


(only if you'd like me to) i could fall in love with you

by thatsnotrelevant



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/F, F/M, First Kiss, Getting Together, Getting to Know Each Other, M/M, Online Friendship, Secret Identity, Slow Burn, Tattoo Artist Zuko, You've Got Mail AU, im back making aus out of romcom movies, tattoo artist au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-26
Updated: 2021-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-15 07:26:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 53,760
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29680461
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatsnotrelevant/pseuds/thatsnotrelevant
Summary: “I have an appointment in half an hour!” Zuko huffed. “I need to finalize my sketches and make sure I have the proper gauge needles-”“Did someone put a stick up your ass? Or did you shove one up there yourself so you had an excuse to be a total prick?” Sokka asked, cutting him off.Zuko’s scowl deepened. “Go back to making your shitty latte’s or whatever,” he scoffed, waving Sokka off and falling back into his chair.Sokka and Zuko do not like each other. However, unbeknownst to them, they're actually best friends online, going under the pseudonyms of thebluespirit and boomeranguy15. When Blue and Boomerang find out they both live in Hong Kong, they decide to meet up in person as soon as possible.Suffice to say, things don't exactly go to plan.
Relationships: Aang/Katara (Avatar), Mai/Ty Lee (Avatar), Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 67
Kudos: 244
Collections: Zukka Big Bang





	1. noodle noodle

**Author's Note:**

> hey guys! after _months and months_ my big bang fic is finally here! 
> 
> am I becoming the de facto late 90s/2000s romcom au writer of the fandom? maybe. 
> 
> anyway, I'd like to thank everyone involved in the zukka big bang for their love and support with this fic, and of course I'm giving a huge thanks to both my beta, [duckseamail](https://duckseamail.tumblr.com/), and a double thanks to my amazing artist AND the person who put on this entire event in the first place, [beignetbenny](https://beignetbenny.tumblr.com/). lee, you did such a fantastic job putting on this event, and you were such an awesome artist to work with too, so thank you so much <3
> 
> also, sidenote: this fic takes place in Hong Kong. I know for the past few years there have been major protests going on in Hong Kong, but I am not going to mention them in this fic as I do not live in Hong Kong and would in no way be able to give an accurate portrayal about what it's like to live there during this time. however, I don't want to simply gloss over what's going on, so please check out the [wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019%E2%80%9320_Hong_Kong_protests) for the protests as it has the most up to date information about what's going on there. 
> 
> this fic will probably be updating every few days, so make sure to subscribe to get the notifications. I'm so glad I can finally post this, I've been so excited for you all to read it!

There was something relaxing about walking through a city at 6 in the morning. 

The sun still hadn’t risen yet, the sky just a vast expanse of soft grey that brightened more and more with every minute. Only a few cars were driving along the usually crowded streets of Hong Kong, with even fewer people walking along the sidewalk. 

When Sokka had first started his job, he thought that morning shifts were going to be the bane of his existence. While he wasn’t necessarily bad at getting up early, it definitely wasn’t something he enjoyed. But after working at his coffee shop for almost a year now, Sokka had come to realize that the morning shift was by far the most enjoyable. 

One, the commute was stupidly easy. Usually Sokka wouldn’t dare walk so many blocks in the middle of summer because that would almost always result in him becoming a dripping, sweaty mess. This would mean that he would have to take the train to work, and while that wasn’t a difficult thing to do per se, there were only so many bodies he could be crammed up against without losing his mind a little bit. But in the mornings, the temperature and humidity were at tolerable levels, and walking to work was actually a pleasant experience. 

Another reason he liked the morning shifts? He was usually finished for the day by the time noon rolled around. This left him plenty of time to spend the afternoon catching up on just about everything he needed to—sleep, school, friends. 

So yeah. Sokka didn’t really mind the morning shift, which meant he was in a good mood as he walked down the empty streets and towards his coffee shop. 

Tucked away at the corner of a bustling intersection was the old-fashioned coffee shop that Sokka had called his work home for the past year. Unlike many shops in Hong Kong—a city constantly running low on space—Sokka’s shop was actually pretty decently sized. It was an old cafe, one that had been around for over thirty years now. With concrete floors, soft yellow hanging lights, and a dark wooden coffee bar, the place was practically the definition of quaint. 

Unlocking the door, Sokka made his way inside the shop, shutting the door behind him. Suki would be here soon to join him in opening, but Sokka was usually the one to get the bulk of the opening process started. 

The routine was ingrained into him at this point. Throwing his jacket in the backroom, the first thing Sokka set about doing was making himself a latte. Just because he didn’t mind getting up early didn’t mean he wasn’t absolutely dead every time he did it. 

Hands going through the motions, Sokka pulled two espresso shots, got out the almond milk to steam, mixed in some honey, and put it all together into a honey almond latte. The smell of roasting coffee beans began to waft throughout the shop, and as Sokka took the first sip of his drink, he leaned back against the counter, tilting his head back and taking a deep breath. The sun’s rays were just starting to creep through the front windows, brushing golden light over the furniture. 

That was the third reason Sokka loved the morning shift. The sunrise was always really pretty to watch. 

His phone buzzed, and when Sokka glanced down at the screen, he smiled when he saw the notification. 

**thebluespirit:** Good morning

Taking another swig of his latte, Sokka set the cup down and typed out a quick reply. 

**boomeranguy15** : you’re like clockwork dude

**boomeranguy15** : you always text me exactly at sunrise every morning

**boomeranguy15** : do you just like?? Set your alarm for sunrise exactly???

**thebluespirit:** I dunno, I’ve always just risen with the sun

**thebluespirit:** How’s your morning going though?

**boomeranguy15** : it’s going gooddddd i’m just doing the opening shift at work

**thebluespirit:** Oh sorry, I’ll let you get back to that then

**thebluespirit:** I’ll dm you later

**boomeranguy15** : ttyl ;)

Putting down his phone, Sokka grinned into his latte. Pretty much all his interactions with his friend, no matter how short, always made him ridiculously excited. What was even more ridiculous though was how he didn’t even know the guys name. 

The Blue Spirit was Sokka’s mysterious internet friend. They had met about 6 months ago on reddit where they had gotten into an intense discussion (read: argument) about sword fighting. Eventually, after nearly ten replies to each other, Sokka’s surefire certainty that single wielding was far superior to dual wielding led to the guy dming him. After arguing a bit more about the superiority of materials used to make a sword (Sokka was trying to convince the guy you could definitely make a sword out of an asteroid), they eventually found common ground when they realized they both watched the same sword fighting teacher on Youtube—an older man named Piandao. 

One thing had led to another, and eventually they ended up exchanging discord usernames. From there, they started talking about all sorts of things they were into. Other youtube channels, cooking, podcasts, etc. Over the course of the past six months, Blue Spirit had slowly become one of Sokka’s closest friends, despite not ever having seen his face. 

Sokka only knew three things about Blue Spirit. He was a guy, he was 25, and he was in the same time zone as Sokka. This meant he could be basically anywhere in either East or Southeast Asia, somewhere in Russia, or even in Western Australia. So that really didn’t narrow much down. 

Still, he didn’t mind. If Blue felt comfortable telling Sokka more about himself, he’d do it on his own time. 

By the time there were only a few sips of his latte left in his mug, Sokka heard the clinking of the front door opening, and he glanced up to see Suki shoving her way inside. She gave Sokka a half-hearted wave as she shut the door behind her, her eyes drooping as she stumbled towards the counter. Without having to be asked, Sokka got another two espresso shots ready, chuckling as Suki slumped over onto the counter, her forehead pressing against the cool wood. 

“Tired?” He asked, very familiar with Suki’s horrible morning grogginess. Suki only mumbled something half-coherent in response, and Sokka hurried to finish Suki’s drink. 

He slid the cappuccino over to her, and she lifted her head to wrap her hands around the ceramic cup. “Sokka, you’re my favorite person,” she mumbled, bringing the drink up to her lips and downing half the cup in one go. 

“I better be or else I’m gonna be really offended,” Sokka teased, finishing the rest of his latte. “Did you have a late night last night?” 

Suki nodded, straightening up so she was actually standing properly. “Yeah, I went out with the girls and forgot I had this shift today.” 

Sokka winced in sympathy. “Please tell me you didn’t get shitfaced.” 

“Eh, I got drunk but not enough to have a bad hangover,” Suki shrugged, taking another sip of her drink. “Still gonna pass out the second this shift is over.” She hummed and closed her eyes, the rising sun hitting the back of her head, and creating a glowing aura around her hair. “How was your night though? Did you talk to your secret boy again?” 

There was a mischievous glint in her eyes as she asked this. Pink lips pulled up in a knowing smirk. Of course Suki knew about Blue, Sokka hardly shut up about the guy. She also teased him relentlessly for his ‘crush’, which Sokka would vehemently deny was a crush, even though he knew that wasn’t exactly true. 

“We watched a movie together,” Sokka said, trying to sound casual and totally failing to do so. Suki snorted at his dreamy tone, and he ignored her by turning around to start setting up the coffee bar for the day. 

“What did you guys watch?” She asked, resting her chin in her hand. 

“A Korean zombie movie,” Sokka snorted, thinking back to his and Blue’s all caps screaming texts to each other every time one of their favorite characters died, or when one of their streams would buffer right when something bad was about to happen. 

“Wow, so romantic,” Suki deadpanned. 

“Hey! It was really good!” Sokka protested. “I even got a little teary-eyed at the end!” By ‘a little teary-eyed’, Sokka really meant he had been full on sobbing, but Suki didn’t need to know that part. 

“Like I said, how romantic.” Finishing her coffee and looking a bit more alive than she had a few minutes ago, Suki moved around the bar to help Sokka continue setting up. “One of these days you gotta find out what he looks like. I need to know if he’s up to my standards for you.” 

“Your standards for me are yourself,” Sokka replied, raising an eyebrow at her. 

“You can’t deny I was one of the best people you ever dated,” Suki joked, folding her arms over her chest. “So what if I want to make sure my ex-boyfriend is with someone as great as I am?” 

“I’m not dating Blue though,” Sokka pointed out, wetting a rag to wipe over the counter. 

“You practically are. If you guys lived in the same city you would’ve been together for three months already.” Suki paused, a consideration flickering across her face. “Where does he live anyway?” 

Sokka shrugged. “I dunno. All I know is that we’re in the same time zone.” 

“Wouldn’t it be funny if he lived here in Hong Kong too?” Suki asked, setting a container of oat milk on the counter. 

“I’m pretty sure the odds of that are astronomically low,” Sokka replied. “Anyway, it doesn’t even matter because like I said, _we’re not dating_.” 

“Alright alright,” Suki relented, holding her hands up in surrender. “I’ll stop interfering in your love life, but only if you let me set you up on a blind date.” 

Sokka snorted and shook his head. “Trust me, I don’t need any help in that department. If anything you should be focused on getting Katara set up with someone, she definitely needs the help more than I do.” 

“Are you kidding? Aang has been pining over Katara since secondary school. I’m not gonna just crush his dreams like that,” Suki explained, darting down to grab her apron and throw it over her head. 

“If Katara ever agrees to go on a date with Aang again I might just die of shock,” Sokka replied. Katara and Aang had been a bit of an item back in secondary school, with Aang’s puppy-like adoration eventually winning Katara over enough to agree to go on a few dates with him. But it fizzled out eventually, and the two remained good friends. However, it was obvious to everyone in their friend group that Aang had never really gotten over Katara, despite Katara having moved on rather easily. 

A part of Sokka was almost worried about how hung up Aang was on his sister. If Aang hadn’t dated Teo a few years back Sokka would’ve probably pulled him aside and told him to move on. But it was clear he was trying to do that, even if his other relationships so far hadn’t worked out. 

Still, Sokka knew how Katara talked about Aang sometimes. When she’d go on about how he’d made her laugh by doing something goofy, or how he cheered her up when she was having a terrible day. There would be a certain look in her eyes that gave Sokka the feeling that Aang wasn’t completely out of luck. 

The rest of the opening routine passed by rather quickly with Suki’s help. The two set up the coffee shop for the day, Sokka taking down the chairs while Suki set up the rest of the coffee bar. As the sun rose higher in the sky and the light in the cafe grew brighter and brighter, it wasn’t long before opening time was on them. 

Like every morning, there was already a line of people waiting when Sokka switched the sign hanging on the door to ‘open’. Soon enough, the first customers of the day flowed in like a faucet being turned on high. 

For the next few hours, he and Suki worked together in a choreographed dance. Sokka would man the register, putting on his best customer service smile to ask each new person what they would like to wake them up before their morning commute. He was forcibly polite to the rude people, while joking along with his regulars. Meanwhile, Suki manned the back, darting around from machine to machine, pumping out drinks with a speed that only came with experience. 

When the line of customers eased up a bit, Sokka would jump back to join Suki. She would pass him the oat milk while he would pass her the caramel bottle. She would slide a half filled macchiato over for him to finish while he would toss the next empty cup at her head, knowing she would catch it without issue. 

The time flew by, and soon it was nearly 11 in the morning. The rush had died down, with the shop no longer crowded by stretching lines and instead populated with a few students or businesspeople here and there. The clicking of keys against laptops and the hushed murmur of conversation echoed throughout the shop, the faint sound of Suki’s playlist being played by the speakers overhead. 

When there was a momentary lull in their orders, Sokka heard a ding from his phone. He had a text. 

**Ty Lee:** Can you come bring me a large iced white mocha with extra mocha syrup when you get a chance??? Pretty please???

Laughing to himself, Sokka replied with a thumbs up emoji, pocketed his phone, and set about making the drink for his friend. When Suki raised an eyebrow at Sokka, he shrugged. 

“Ty Lee gave me her order of the day,” he explained. Suki made an ‘aah’ noise in understanding, and went back to running caramel ribbons up the side of the cup she was holding. 

Despite the fact that their coffee shop was unusually large for a small Hong Kong business, that didn’t mean that the overcrowding didn’t affect them. The one really unfortunate thing about the shop was that the one person bathroom that was used by customers connected to the building next to their own, which so happened to be a tattoo parlor. As a result of both having to work out a schedule for which side cleaned the bathroom when, Sokka had gotten to know a few of the people who worked at the tattoo parlor. And one of those people was Ty Lee. 

Ty Lee was a bubbly girl with an infectious smile who absolutely did not seem like she would be a tattoo artist. Seeing her sparkly eyeshadow and baby pink crop tops did not lend itself to the idea of the punk aesthetic that went hand in hand with tattoo artists. However, at closer inspection you’d realize Ty Lee’s arms were covered in small doodle-like tattoos (many of which she had tattooed on herself). From strawberries to angel wings to circus tents, Ty Lee had really adopted an aesthetic all her own. Sokka thought she was great. 

He’s not sure when the coffee ordering had become a common thing between the two of them. One day Ty Lee had just texted him asking him to bring her a coffee saying she would pay him in cash when he got over there, because she had been in the middle of tattooing a client and couldn’t get up. Now it was a near daily event. 

Once the drink was made, Sokka shrugged off his apron, waved to Suki, and weaved his way through the customers and out the doors towards the tattoo parlor next door. 

Stepping inside the tattoo parlor was a much different experience than stepping into his coffee shop. For one, instead of being greeted with the smell of roasting coffee beans and sugary syrup, Sokka was hit with a face full of antiseptic. The sound of angry buzzing usually filled the room, with some pop punk music playing faintly from the speakers overhead. 

The tattoo parlor was much smaller than the coffee shop. There were only three ‘service’ chairs set up, with two being reserved for tattoos and the third being used for piercings. At the moment, the piercer at the shop—a goth girl named Mai who kind of scared Sokka—had a customer at her chair, and was leaning over the young man with a needle hovering over his ear. One of the tattoo chairs was empty at the moment, lacking both customer and artist. The other chair had no customer in it, but a grinning Ty Lee texting rapidly on her phone, having not even looked up as Sokka had walked in. 

“I come bearing presents,” Sokka announced in a grandiose voice, setting the iced mocha down on the table next to Ty Lee. 

Ty Lee jumped at the noise, and when her eyes darted up to meet Sokka’s, her cherub cheeks spread into a wide grin. 

“Sokka!” She exclaimed, leaping to her feet. “Thank you! I needed this so badly you don’t even know,” Ty Lee said, and before Sokka could try to dodge, Ty Lee was wrapping her arms around him in a hug. 

As the air was crushed out of his lungs due to Ty Lee’s (weirdly) strong grip, Sokka tried to wiggle out while forcing out a response. 

“No problem, anything for my favorite tattoo artist,” he gasped, wondering if his face was already turning purple. 

Luckily for him, Ty Lee dropped her arms and the blood rushed back into his brain. She sat back down at her chair and picked up her drink, taking an experimental sip. Then, her expression brightened as an excited noise squeaked out of her. “It’s perfect like always!” She giggled and set the drink back down, before digging into her purse for the money. “By the way, I wanted to tell you that your aura is a super pretty color today. You must be in a good mood.” 

Trying to hide the roll of his eyes at the mention of Ty Lee’s ‘auras’, Sokka let out an uncomfortable chuckle. “Oh really? What color is it today?” 

Glancing up from her purse, Ty Lee narrowed her eyes at Sokka. “I’d say… a bluish silvery kind of tone.” 

“I like the sound of that,” Sokka shrugged, right as Ty Lee yelled ‘got it’ and threw her hand with the money in it in the air. Straightening up, she dropped the cash into his hands, and he quickly shoved it in his pocket. 

Turning on his heel, Sokka went to move towards the door. “I gotta get back to my shift but, as always, it’s been a pleasure Ty Lee-” 

Sokka was cut off by a raspy voice coming from the back of the room. “Ugh, he’s here.” 

Freezing in place, Sokka took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a moment as he swiveled on his foot to turn back around. Opening his eyes, he was met with the scowling face of none other than _Zuko._

Zuko was the tattoo artist to whom the third chair in the shop belonged to. Before Sokka had befriended Ty Lee and actually met the guy, he’d only seen Zuko when he passed by the front of his own coffee shop every day. At the time, he’d thought the shaggy dark hair that almost fell to his shoulders, the angry red scar that covered nearly half his face, and the shockingly dark tattoos that were stark against his pale arms made him seem like some sort of really cool and hot punk dude that Sokka would totally flirt with at a concert.

However, Sokka soon learned that the guy was a total bastard. 

“Yeah, I’m here. Is there a problem?” Sokka challenged, raising an eyebrow at Zuko. 

“There is. You’re distracting me and my coworkers from our work,” Zuko shot back, totally missing the fact that Mai had completed a piercing and given aftercare instructions all in the last five minutes without being distracted by Sokka’s presence. 

“Oh yeah, because you’re clearly so busy right now,” Sokka said, pointedly glancing at Zuko’s empty customer chair. 

“I have an appointment in half an hour!” Zuko huffed. “I need to finalize my sketches and make sure I have the proper gauge needles-” 

“Did someone put a stick up your ass? Or did you shove one up there yourself so you had an excuse to be a total prick?” Sokka asked, cutting him off. 

Zuko’s scowl deepened. “Go back to making your shitty latte’s or whatever,” he scoffed, waving Sokka off and falling back into his chair. 

Not wanting to stick around for any longer than he had to, Sokka turned on his heel and stomped out of the tattoo parlor. Like always, his interaction with Zuko left Sokka gritting his teeth and clenching his fists. 

That smug bastard just got under his skin like no one else did, and it drove him crazy. 

His and Zuko’s poor relationship had started off nearly six months ago, when Sokka had gone into the coffee shop like usual to bring Ty Lee her drink. It was only around the third or fourth time Sokka was bringing Ty Lee coffee, and while he knew both Zuko and Mai’s names, he’d yet to actually interact with either of them. 

Walking into the parlor on that day in particular had led to Sokka running into someone he had never wanted to see again. 

There, sitting on the customer chair and smirking at Zuko with all the charm he could muster, was none other than Jet. The same Jet who had broken Katara’s heart only 2 months before after they had dated for almost 6. The breakup had been sudden and come without warning, with Jet unwilling to explain what exactly had gone wrong and basically ghosting Katara on all social media. She had cried for days. 

So to see Jet again only 2 months after, threading his fingers into Zuko’s hair and looking like he was about to make out with him right then and there, was a bit of a shock to say the least. When he had asked Ty Lee about it, she had said that they had been dating for a while at that point, which led Sokka to believe that Zuko could’ve been the reason Jet had broken up with Katara. 

Since that day in the shop, Sokka hadn’t seen Jet again, and hadn’t heard Ty Lee mention him. But still, Zuko was dating that bastard, and of course that meant that Sokka not only resented Jet on behalf of Katara, but he had to resent Zuko too. 

And to be fair, Zuko took the rivalry in stride. Every shot Sokka fired at him, he’d fire right back. In all honesty, if Zuko hadn’t been able to dish out as much as he could take, Sokka would’ve stopped the petty insults more for boredom than anything else. But that wasn’t the case, and the two were able to go at it for ages. 

Huffing to himself as he stepped out of the shop, Sokka made his way back into his coffee shop where a new line had formed in his absence. Suki was scrambling to fill orders, so Sokka darted back behind the counter and slid in front of the register so she could get started on making the drinks. 

In between making drinks, Sokka managed to send out a text to Blue. 

**boomeranguy15:** goddddd the guy next door is pissing me off again

**thebluespirit:** Ugh really? I’m sorry

**thebluespirit:** That prick who works near me also just pissed me off

**boomeranguy15:** jesus why are people such assholes

**boomeranguy15:** istg this guy acts like me just existing annoys him

**thebluespirit:** I don’t understand how anyone could be annoyed by you

**thebluespirit:** But yeah the prick near me also acts like that

**thebluespirit:** I literally was just minding my own business trying to work and he had to come over to distract me

**thebluespirit:** And then acted like it was my fault he was there

**boomeranguy15:** god what a dick

From the register, Suki barked out an order in a sharp voice, and Sokka knew she was getting annoyed. 

**boomeranguy15:** anyway I don’t wanna disappear but I’m still working so I’ll text you later

**boomeranguy15:** just wanted to rant

**boomeranguy15:** hope your day gets better tho

**thebluespirit:** You too

**thebluespirit:** Good luck

**boomeranguy15:** <3

The last hour of his shift passed by in a blur. Sokka burned his hand on the espresso machine, Suki dropped ten ice cubes on the floor which led to Sokka’s life flashing before his eyes when he slipped on one, and Suki had to explain to a customer that no, they did not have caffeine packets, and even if they did they certainly wouldn’t add one to a quadruple shot latte. 

Sokka was so tired by the time the clock struck twelve that he nearly cried when he spotted Aang walking through the front doors of the shop. 

“Hey Sokka! Hi Suki!” Aang greeted, waving as he pushed behind the counter. “How was the morning shift?” 

“Exhausting,” Suki said, chucking her apron at Aang. “Though things slowed down again, so you should be able to survive until Haru gets here.” 

“I think I can manage,” Aang agreed, tossing the apron over his head. “Anything interesting happen other than the usual rush?” 

Sokka snorted as he folded his apron and put it away. “Gave Ty Lee her coffee and Zuko was a dick to me, like usual.” 

“I don’t understand why you two don’t get along,” Aang pouted. “He’s a nice dude once you get to know him!” 

“And I don’t understand how you can say that about him when he’s dating the same guy who broke Katara’s heart!” Sokka shot back. 

Aang shrugged. “I mean, it’s not like it’s his fault Jet broke up with Katara. I don’t even think he knew Jet when he and Katara were together.” 

“Sure he didn’t,” Sokka muttered, rolling his eyes. “Anyway, he’s just a jerk, plain and simple. You know what he said today? He said I was distracting him from his _sketches_. Just by standing there!” 

“I mean, maybe he’s the type who needs complete quiet to focus?” Aang wondered. 

Sokka rolled his eyes. “Rock music was blasting over the loudspeakers,” he deadpanned. Aang didn’t seem sure how to respond to that, but Sokka continued on. “Anyway, it doesn’t matter. I’m gonna go to Noodle Noodle for lunch and then I’m gonna go home and pass out.” 

“God I wish that was me,” Suki groaned. “I have a judo class I have to go teach.” 

“Here, let me make you a cold brew,” Aang said, already grabbing a cup for the girl. 

“Aang, you’re my favorite,” Suki muttered, letting her head drop onto the bar. 

Making his way out from behind the bar, Sokka gave a small wave to his friends. “I’m heading out now. I’ll see you guys later!” 

Aang and Suki both waved goodbye, and Sokka stepped out into the oppressive afternoon heat. A contrast to earlier that morning when he’d first arrived at the shop, now the streets were bustling with people, the honking of car horns filling the air as Sokka pushed his way through the congested sidewalk. 

Turning towards his apartment, Sokka walked down the street, already daydreaming of the noodles he was about to eat. Noodle Noodle was a restaurant that specialized in fish noodles, and Sokka had a particular penchant for their sichuan beef fish udon. 

The smell of roasting meat and fish filled the air when Sokka stepped inside. He went up to the register to place his takeout order, and then found himself a quiet booth in the corner to wait for his food to be ready. 

There was a buzzing from his back pocket, and when Sokka pulled his phone out, a grin lit up his face at the sight of the notification. 

**thebluespirit:** I know you’re working rn, I just saw this and it made me think of you

**thebluespirit:** [image.jpg] 

Blue had sent Sokka a picture. It was a standard baseball hat, and on the front in small blue embroidery it said, ‘women want me, fish fear me’. The image made Sokka let out a surprised laugh, causing a few other patrons sitting at the table next to his to give him startled looks. 

**boomeranguy15:** LSDFKJAD DUDE I NEED THAT

**boomeranguy15:** did you think of me because my dad’s a fisherman??

**thebluespirit:** Lol yes

**boomeranguy15:** perfect

**boomeranguy15:** also I’m off work now

**thebluespirit:** Oh sweet

**thebluespirit:** How was it?

**boomeranguy15:** pretty good, I’m just exhausted and wanna nap lol

**boomeranguy15:** but I’m getting takeout first before I go home

**thebluespirit:** What’re you getting?

**boomeranguy15:** there’s this AWESOME place called Noodle Noodle near my apt

**boomeranguy15:** they have this dish of like fish udon with sichuan beef on top and it is literally the best thing i’ve ever put in my mouth

**boomeranguy15:** so i’m waiting on that rn

There was a pause before Blue responded. Sokka saw the notification that he was typing, but it went away after a moment, and Sokka wondered if something was going on. 

The woman behind the counter called his name, and Sokka got up to grab his food. When he had the bag in his hand and was walking out of the restaurant, he could see Blue was typing again. 

**thebluespirit:** Do you mean Noodle Noodle as in the noodle place in Hong Kong?

Sokka’s breath caught in his throat. How the hell did Blue know where Noodle Noodle was?

**boomeranguy15:** uhhh yeah?

**thebluespirit:** You live in Hong Kong?

**boomeranguy15:** yeah?

**thebluespirit:** Holy shit

**thebluespirit:** I live in Hong Kong too

And just like that, Sokka’s steps froze in the middle of the sidewalk. Everything in his mind came screeching to a halt. For so long, he had assumed he and Blue were never going to be able to meet. Maybe they’d video call one day, maybe he’d get to hear Blue’s voice. But never were they going to see each other in person, because more likely than not, they lived really far away from each other. Like, what are the odds someone you meet randomly on the internet just happens to live near you?

Apparently the odds aren’t that low, because Blue lives in the _same city_ he does. 

**boomeranguy15:** oh my god

**boomeranguy15:** OH MY GOD

**boomeranguy15:** DUDE!!!

**boomeranguy15:** WE COULD MEET UP

**thebluespirit:** I thought you lived in Australia what the fuck

**boomeranguy15:** I THOUGHT YOU LIVED IN AUSTRALIA!

**thebluespirit:** I can’t believe we lived in the same city this whole time and never even knew

**boomeranguy15:** I’m literally freaking out rn

**boomeranguy15:** when are you available?? We gotta set a date to meet up???

**thebluespirit:** Does it make me sound too eager if I say I’m free tomorrow after work? 

**boomeranguy15:** oh thank GOD I wanted to ask about tomorrow but I didn’t wanna sound weird

**thebluespirit:** Not at all

**thebluespirit:** Where do you want to meet up?

**boomeranguy15:** uhhh

**boomeranguy15:** ngl I’ve been craving grass jelly like hella badly the last few days

**boomeranguy15:** you wanna go to Meet Fresh? 

**thebluespirit:** I love grass jelly

**thebluespirit:** Yes that sounds awesome

**thebluespirit:** My last appointment tomorrow should end around 4 so after cleaning everything up I should be able to get over there around 5?

**boomeranguy15:** that totally works for me

**boomeranguy15:** holy shit I’m so excited

**thebluespirit:** Me too

**thebluespirit:** I can’t wait to see you

**boomeranguy15:** same :)

**boomeranguy15:** OH WE SHOULD HAVE SOMETHING TO SIGNAL TO EACH OTHER THAT IT’S US

**thebluespirit:** Couldn’t we just send each other selfies?

**boomeranguy15:** nah it’ll be more fun this way

**boomeranguy15:** element of surprise y'know

**boomeranguy15:** how about we each hold a specific type of flower

**thebluespirit:** Flowers? Really?

**boomeranguy15:** cmonnnnn it’ll be cute

**boomeranguy15:** plus I’m sure you’ll look cute with a flower in your hair ;)

**thebluespirit:** dslkjfdlsfjl

**thebluespirit:** You don’t even know if I have hair!

**boomeranguy15:** omg are you bald

**boomeranguy15:** have you been bald this whole time

**boomeranguy15:** if you have been that’s really gonna fuck with my mental image of you

**boomeranguy15:** nothing against bald people tho I have a friend that used to be bald

**boomeranguy15:** honestly he might still be bald I haven’t checked under his beanie recently

**thebluespirit:** I’m not bald!

**boomeranguy15:** are you sure

**thebluespirit:** Yes I’m sure

**thebluespirit:** I have black hair

**boomeranguy15:** wow that narrows it down so much

**thebluespirit:** I thought you wanted our appearances to be a surprise

**boomeranguy15:** I do

**boomeranguy15:** but I’m still gonna try to guess of course

**boomeranguy15:** anyway

**boomeranguy15:** flowers

**thebluespirit:** Oh yeah

**thebluespirit:** Um

**thebluespirit:** We should have something that no one else is likely to have

**boomeranguy15:** oh yeah we wouldn’t want a mix up

**boomeranguy15:** that’d be awkward lmao

**boomeranguy15:** so definitely not roses

**boomeranguy15:** I don’t think you see people with chrysanthemums that often?

**thebluespirit:** Oh yeah those are cool

**thebluespirit:** I think a flower place near my work has some

**thebluespirit:** I could get a red one and you could get a white one maybe? 

**boomeranguy15:** sounds gucci to me

**boomeranguy15:** I can’t wait

**thebluespirit:** Neither can I

**thebluespirit:** I gotta get back to work now but I’ll see you tomorrow :)

**boomeranguy15:** See you tomorrow

That afternoon, Sokka was barely able to rest. As soon as he had gotten home with his noodles, he had called Katara to frantically tell her all about how he was going to meet Blue tomorrow. After that, he had texted the group chat he had with her, Suki, Aang, and Toph to tell the others about the good news. As expected, his friends were thrilled for him. 

He tried to keep himself occupied by focusing on his homework. And when that didn’t work, he switched to watching anime, but even Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood couldn’t hold his attention for long. Every time he tried to switch his brain to something else, he’d just remember that he was going to finally meet his best friend in person tomorrow, and the excitement would bubble up inside all over again. 

He couldn’t help but daydream about what it was going to be like tomorrow when he saw Blue. Was he going to be taller or shorter than Sokka? Was his hair long or was it short? What kind of clothes was he going to wear? Was he a hoodie and jeans type of guy, or was he more into fashion? Sokka wondered what his voice sounded like. If it was high-pitched and soft, or low and raspy. 

Eventually, Sokka managed to tear his thoughts away from Blue by focusing on a project he had for one of his classes. The project wasn’t due for another two months, but Sokka was really excited about it, and currently in the middle of sketching out his third set of revised blueprints for the machine. 

Soon the sky outside turned to orange, and then to deep red as the sun fell below the horizon. Sokka’s eyes were growing tired, but his mind was wide awake as he bounced from idea to idea, writing and erasing lines on his sketch as he tried to figure out how to maximize efficiency. Pencil scratched against paper, and without realizing it, Sokka smudged pencil lead across his nose. 

It wasn’t long before Sokka heard the front door of his apartment swing open. Checking the time, his eyes nearly bugged out of his head when he saw it was almost 10:30. Katara never got home that late. 

Putting down his papers, Sokka padded out of his room and into the kitchen, where his sister had draped herself across the counter, groaning into her hands. 

“Long day?” Sokka asked, walking up behind her. 

Lifting her head, Katara gave him a tired smile. “Yeah, I was studying at the library all day. I have an exam tomorrow.” 

Sokka made a face at that. “You were at the library this whole time?” 

“That’s medical school for you,” Katara snorted, pushing herself up and turning to open the fridge. She dug through and pulled out a pitcher of water, and poured herself a large glass before downing half the cup in one go. 

“It’s only your first year and I feel like I hardly ever see you anymore,” Sokka said, frowning at his sister. “You’re so busy all the time. Are you doing alright with that kind of stress?”

Katara laughed softly. “I appreciate the concern, but I promise you I’m fine. Yeah, I’m really tired because of school, but I also really like what I’m learning, which makes it a lot easier to get through.” She took another sip of water. “If I was too stressed to deal with this, you’d know, trust me.” 

Once she set the cup down, she then grinned at Sokka. 

“Anyway, enough about me and my day. I can’t believe you’re actually going to meet Blue tomorrow!” 

“God I know, I’m still in shock that we’ve lived in the same city this entire time and never realized it,” Sokka said, leaning against the counter. 

“Who knows? If things go well tomorrow, you may have just found yourself a new boyfriend,” Katara teased, putting the pitcher back in the fridge. “Are you nervous at all?” 

Sokka frowned. “Why would I be nervous?” 

Katara shrugged. “I dunno. You’ve just never met the guy before. He might not be what you’re expecting, that’s all.” 

“I don’t really have any expectations for him,” Sokka shrugged. “All I know about him is that he has black hair.” 

“Well that’s a start,” Katara snorted. “I’m glad you’re not worried. Honestly, you have no reason to be. I’m sure it’s gonna go great.” 

“Thank you, I really hope it goes well,” Sokka said, folding his arms over his chest. “And hey, maybe if I get a boyfriend, we can focus on getting you one too.” 

Raising an eyebrow, Katara pulled an extremely thick textbook out of her bag and pointed to it. “While I appreciate the fact that you wanna help me, right now the only thing I’m dating is my textbooks.” 

“Boooooooooring!” Sokka sang. “C’mon, Katara! Just because you’re in medical school doesn’t mean you can’t date around!” 

Katara shrugged. “I dunno. I’m not really looking to meet anyone new right now.” 

“Who said anything about someone new?” Sokka pointed out. When Katara gave him a questioning look, Sokka shrugged. “I think Suki wants to try setting you and Aang up again.” 

This made Katara laugh. “While I’m not totally against the idea, Aang mentioned the other day that he’s texting Teo again, so I think that door is shut for the time being.” 

“Wait, he is?!” Sokka exclaimed. “How come no one told me!” 

“He brought it up when it was just me, Toph, and him hanging out,” Katara explained, moving towards her room. “It’s not a big deal though. They’re just texting.” 

“Excuse me, I expect to be kept up to date on all of my friends' love lives,” Sokka huffed. “Including yours.” 

Katara laughed again. “I’ll keep you updated, but I doubt anything is gonna happen for a while.” Opening the door to her room, she stepped inside, and spared one last look back at Sokka. “I’m exhausted so I’m gonna go to bed now, but I’ll see you in the morning, right?” 

“Yeah, I don’t have the morning shift tomorrow so I’ll be around before your classes,” Sokka reassured. 

“Alright, g’night Sokka.” 

“Sleep well, Katara.” 

And with that, his sister closed the door, leaving Sokka alone once more. While he was in the kitchen, he grabbed himself a bag of shrimp crackers and a bottle of water, before heading back to his room. 

He spent the next hour pouring over his blueprint, occasionally popping a cracker in his mouth. When his vision began to go blurry, Sokka realized he should probably leave it for the night, and decided to turn Fullmetal Alchemist back on until he fell asleep. 

Sokka didn’t even make it through an entire episode before he passed out with his hand still in the cracker bag.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope you guys enjoyed this first chapter, the second one will be up soon! 
> 
> also, yes, Noodle Noodle is a real restaurant in Hong Kong and the dish I described is also a real dish that is served there. oh, and Meet Fresh is another real restaurant, and grass jelly is amazing. If you haven't had it, please try it, trust me on this it'll change your life
> 
> hit me up on tumblr @thatsnotrelevant :) 
> 
> make sure to leave a comment if you enjoyed, they really make my day! <3


	2. a red chrysanthemum

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sokka's world is turned upside down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woohoo chapter 2 is here!
> 
> Thank you all so much for the love you've already given this fic with only one chapter out. Hopefully you enjoy this one as much as the last!

The next morning for Sokka was a haze. Bleary eyes blinked open to the smell of food, and it wasn’t until he was sitting at the kitchen table with a spoonful of scrambled eggs in his mouth that he remembered what was so significant about that day. 

Checking his phone, Sokka had seen that he’d gotten a text from Blue not long after he'd passed out. It was a simple goodnight text, and Sokka sent a quick apology along with a good morning text to Blue to make up for it. 

Katara and him ate breakfast together, chatting about their plans for that day. Then, after breakfast, Sokka and Katara argued about who got to shower first. Eventually Katara won out because she reasoned that she had to put makeup on afterwards, which Sokka couldn’t really fight against. He had slept in due to having the morning shift the day before, so by the time Sokka was showered and ready to go, he was already running late. 

The day was hot and sticky, like almost all summer days in Hong Kong were. One very cramped and sweaty train ride later, Sokka was making his way into the coffee shop for his day of work. When he walked inside the shop, his body instantly relaxed as the scent of coffee beans washed over him. 

Aang was already behind the counter, bouncing between machines with practiced ease. He waved when Sokka walked in, and Sokka wasted no time in rushing behind the counter to take his place next to his coworker. 

“Hey Sokka,” Aang greeted while squeezing caramel into a cup. “How’s your morning been?” 

“Pretty uneventful. Katara and I just had breakfast together before she went to class,” Sokka said, grabbing another cup off the line and reading what the order was. 

“Oh yeah, she’s got that exam today, right? Is she worried about it?” Aang asked, eyes widening. 

“I think she’ll be okay,” Sokka reassured. “She’s been studying nonstop.” 

“I know she has. I had to go to the library last night to convince her to leave after she’d been there all day,” Aang said, pressing a few buttons on the espresso machine. 

Now this made Sokka raise his eyebrows. “Oh, you did?” He remembered what Katara had said last night. About how Aang had started texting Teo again. Interesting that she hadn’t mentioned how he had been the one to make her leave the library the night before. 

“Yeah, you know her. She’ll study until she passes out unless someone drags her away from her books,” Aang laughed, dumping some ice and milk into the cup before putting a lid on it. “Iced caramel macchiato!” He called out. Then he turned back to the espresso machine and began to load up the next round of espresso shots. “I just don’t want her to push herself too hard, y’know?” 

Sokka gave Aang a long look, mind racing as he tried to figure out what the deal was between them. Katara would’ve told Sokka that Aang had stopped by the library unless she had a reason she didn’t want him to know about it. Again, interesting. 

“Yeah, I’m glad you’re looking out for her,” Sokka finally responded, dumping matcha powder into a bowl of water and whisking it together. 

“Of course, she’s one of my closest friends,” Aang replied in a soft voice, hands stilling as he stared off into the distance. After a moment, he blinked and returned back to making the drink. “But anyway, are you excited to meet Blue today?” 

Sokka snorted. “Of course I am. We’re supposed to meet up at Meet Fresh around 5,” he said, carefully pouring the matcha from the bowl and into a cup. “Oh, by the way, have you brought Ty Lee her coffee yet?” 

“I think Suki did before I got here,” Aang explained. 

“Did she see Zuko?” Sokka asked, wondering if the grumpy tattoo artist had been as rude to Suki as he was to Sokka. 

Aang shrugged. “I dunno, she didn’t mention him.” 

Damn. Sokka was curious about how Zuko acted with others from the coffee shop that weren’t him. Aang and him were sorta friends, he knew that. But he had never heard Suki’s take on the guy. 

Either way, he was still a prick. 

Sokka thought that because he was so excited for 5 to roll around, it was going to be difficult to get through his shift. However, to his (grateful) surprise, things went by rather quickly. They were having a large rush, and while Sokka was frantic trying to get all the drinks made, it definitely helped to keep him distracted from the ticking of the clock. 

By the time the clock struck 4, Sokka’s hands were covered in pumpkin spice, matcha powder, and cinnamon sugar. His back ached and his eyes were drooping. Somehow, Aang was still as energetic as always, eyes bright as he made both him and Sokka some coffees before they left the shop. 

Haru was their relief, and Sokka wished him luck as he and Aang headed out for the afternoon. Sokka hadn’t hung out with Haru much outside of work, but he was a nice guy, even if his mustache still made Sokka die inside every single time he saw it. Like, Haru was cool, but why on earth did he think that looked good? 

With a wave goodbye to Aang and Haru, Sokka was out of the shop and heading towards the train by 4:15. The Meet Fresh wasn’t exactly close to his coffee shop, but he had been really craving one of their grass jelly bowls, and getting around Hong Kong wasn’t too hard as long as you knew how to take the train. 

Like usual, the train was packed tightly. Sokka pressed himself up against one of the windows, silently praying no one’s sweat rubbed off on him too much. Along the ride, he entertained himself with thoughts of what Blue might look like, and what Blue might expect him to look like. 

Wait, what language were they going to speak to each other when Sokka showed up? Having lived in Hong Kong since he was 11, Sokka was fluent in Cantonese since that was what he used on a daily basis, but he and Blue had always texted each other in English. But what if Blue could only read and write English, and couldn’t speak it all that well? English was a pretty hard language to learn after all. Would Sokka embarrass Blue if he introduced himself in English? 

Shaking his head, Sokka silently scolded himself. He and Blue had only spoken English to each other so far, so introducing himself in English was probably what Blue was expecting. If Blue needed them to switch to Canto, he could just tell Sokka that. 

He was overthinking this. That much was obvious. He just needed to calm down, and trust that things would fall into place naturally. All he had to do was look for the guy holding a red chrysanthemum. 

The train arrived at his stop, and Sokka pushed through the crowd to eagerly escape the compressed metal box. Once he was out in the open air once more, Sokka let out a relieved breath, and hurried down the street towards the nearest flower shop. 

Thankfully, there was a flower shop not too far from the Meet Fresh. Darting by, Sokka grabbed the first white chrysanthemum he saw, and bounced up and down on the balls of his feet while he waited for her to check out. Checking his watch, he saw it was already 4:45, meaning his walk to the train station, plus the train ride, plus the stop at the flower shop had taken up 30 minutes alone. 

Now in a rush, Sokka hurried down the street, cutting corners wherever possible to try and get to the Meet Fresh as soon as possible. 

Finally, as the clock struck 4:53, Sokka made it. 

Sokka stood outside the Meet Fresh, white chrysanthemum in hand as he looked through the glass window storefront. There were only a few people inside, milling about. The first was a couple standing at the register, a man and a woman holding hands as they placed their order. The next was a woman sitting close to the window, absently digging through a gigantic pile of shaved ice and ice cream. 

Sokka kept looking, gaze searching for a flash of red. 

Then, he spotted it. 

There, sitting in the very back far corner of the restaurant, was a guy holding a red chrysanthemum flower. Sokka stared at the flower, eyes widening with excitement, and followed his gaze up the guys heavily tattooed arms, towards his black shirt, then his black hair, and the dark scar that covered half his-

Wait. 

The realization of who he was looking at was like a bucket of ice water being dumped over Sokka’s head. The smile fell away from his face as Sokka saw hazel eyes fiddling with the flower stem, the swoop of dark hair that had always infuriated Sokka with how emo yet attractive it was falling over both the scarred and unscarred halves of his face. 

It was Zuko. 

Zuko was here, at Meet Fresh, holding a red chrysanthemum flower. Right where Blue was supposed to be. 

Zuko was Blue. 

“No…” Sokka whispered, the hand holding his own flower fell to his side, a feeling of dread washing over him. Zuko—the bastard—couldn’t be Sokka’s best friend from the past 6 months. The guy that Sokka bickered with on a near daily basis, the guy who accused Sokka of distracting him from his work just by existing in his space, the asshole who was _dating Jet._

Sokka felt like he was going to throw up. 

This couldn’t be real. For all the coincidences in the world, Blue couldn’t be Zuko. That just didn’t happen. The odds of Sokka’s internet best friend being the asshole who worked next door had to be astronomically low. 

And yet, Zuko was still sitting there. Red chrysanthemum in hand. Tapping his fingers on the table like he was nervously waiting for someone. 

He was waiting for Sokka. 

Shit. He had to do something. This could still be a mistake. Zuko might just be holding a red chrysanthemum for other reasons. It didn’t mean he was Blue! If Sokka really wanted to find out if it was him or not, he could just go inside and talk to Zuko. Ask him what he was doing there. Maybe he was waiting for Jet, and this was all a funny misunderstanding. 

Shoving down the logical part of his brain that told him the chances of someone else waiting in this Meet Fresh with a red chrysanthemum were also astronomically low, Sokka hid his own flower in his jacket pocket where Zuko couldn’t see, and forced himself to walk into the store. 

The door chimed with Sokka’s entrance, the smell of tea and sugar hitting Sokka in the face as he stepped inside. Zuko’s head whipped up at the chime, but his hopeful expression melted into a scowl the moment he locked eyes with Sokka. 

Making sure his flower was out of sight, Sokka waltzed over to Zuko’s table. 

“Funny running into you here,” Sokka drawled, hoping the waver in his voice wasn’t noticeable. His heart was pounding as he rested his hands on Zuko’s table, and it took everything in his power to lift his lips into a smug smirk. 

“What do you want, Sokka?” Zuko snapped, narrowing his eyes at him. 

“I just came here for some grass jelly,” Sokka explained, holding his hands up in mock surrender. “I don’t see a buzzer on your table though.” 

Zuko glared at him, still fiddling with the flower in his hands. “I’m waiting for someone,” he muttered, ducking his head back down to the table. 

_Fuck._

“Oh, a date then?” Zuko didn’t confirm, but he didn’t deny it either. “Your boyfriend, Jet?” Sokka continued, silently praying that Zuko would say yes and save Sokka all of this internal panic. 

Zuko’s head whipped back up at Jet’s name, a deep scowl flashing across his face. He stared at Sokka for a moment, looking both confused and angry as hell. 

“What the hell are you talking about? Jet and I broke up months ago. I’m waiting for someone else,” Zuko said, frowning at Sokka. 

“You…” Sokka’s voice trailed off as his eyes widened. They broke up? _Months ago?_ That didn’t make sense. He could’ve sworn they were still dating. That was why he was so rude to Zuko. That was why this entire rivalry of theirs had started in the first place. 

Slowly, the realization dawned on Sokka. This entire time, he’d thought Zuko was dating that bastard Jet. That was how he’d justified his rude behavior towards the guy. That was why he never felt bad about the low blows they swung at each other. Zuko was dating the asshole that had broken his sister’s heart. Therefore, Zuko was an asshole. 

But they had broken up. Not even recently, but a while ago. 

The smug expression fell from Sokka’s face. This was Blue. This was his best friend, and for the past six months he’d been insulting him, goading him, and taunting him for no reason whatsoever. 

This was his best friend, and his best friend hated his guts. 

His flower felt as if it were burning a hole through his jacket. He couldn’t tell Zuko he was Boomerang. Not now. Not after being so terrible to him for so long. Blue- no, _Zuko_ would want nothing to do with him. He might even think it was all a game. A trap to make fun of him. 

Zuko stared at Sokka’s gaping face, waiting for a response. 

“I, um,” Sokka’s thoughts were racing now. What the hell did he do if he couldn’t tell Zuko he was Boomerang? How was he supposed to make up for the fact that he’d started a rivalry with Zuko for no good reason? 

He needed to get out of here to think. 

“I need to go,” Sokka suddenly said. Zuko opened his mouth, but before he could ask what was wrong, Sokka turned around and darted out of the store. He had to get outside. He needed fresh air before he threw up. 

Rushing down the street, Sokka struggled to figure out his racing thoughts. Zuko hated him. Blue hated him. He hadn’t been dating Jet for months now. The metaphorical rug that was Sokka’s relationships had been swept out from under him. 

Sokka wasn’t sure where he was going. He shoved past different passersby on the street, wanting to just get as far away from the Meet Fresh as possible. 

Zuko’s face kept flashing in his mind. His anger. His confusion. The way he glared at Sokka. All of it on repeat in his brain over and over again. 

Finally, when Sokka had gotten several blocks away, he stopped. Leaning against the side of a building, Sokka greedily gulped down air, having barely remembered to breathe during his race away from the dessert store. 

Pulling out his phone, Sokka went to call Katara, but then he paused. 

Zuko was waiting for him at Meet Fresh. It was 5:10, and Boomerang still hadn’t showed up. 

Blue didn’t deserve to be stood up. 

Gritting his teeth, Sokka pulled up his texts and clicked on Blue’s user. His fingers were heavy as he typed out the message. 

**boomeranguy15:** hey dude, I’m so so sorry but a family emergency came up and I can’t make today

Sokka imagined Zuko getting the text, his good eye widening as he tapped out a response. 

**thebluespirit:** Oh, don’t worry about it it’s fine. Is everything okay?

Fuck. Even when Sokka was ditching him he was still so understanding. 

**boomeranguy15:** yeah, it’s ok. I just might not be online as much for the next few days

**thebluespirit:** That’s fine. I hope everything with your family turns out alright

**thebluespirit:** If you need anything you know I’m here for you

The nausea rose up in Sokka again at his kindness. Sokka didn’t deserve that. Not after how terrible he’d been. 

**boomeranguy15:** thank you

**boomeranguy15:** I’m really really sorry

He was sorry. For everything. For being an unreasonable ass. For making an assumption of Zuko based on witnessing one thing. For leaving Zuko alone in that Meet Fresh, bristling after having a run in with a guy he hated. 

**thebluespirit:** Seriously, it’s ok. Don’t worry about me. Focus on your stuff, I’ll still be here when everything is settled

Sokka was biting his lip so hard he could taste blood as he typed out his last reply. 

**boomeranguy15:** thank you

**thebluespirit:** <3

He couldn’t find it in himself to return the heart emoji. 

Exiting out of his texts, Sokka pulled up Katara’s contact and hit call. He needed to figure out what he was going to do now. And in order to do that, he needed his friends. 

“Hey Sokka, what’s up? Aren’t you on your date with Blue?” Katara asked, the smile in her voice obvious. 

Sokka gulped. “I-I already saw him,” he said quietly, dragging a hand down his face. 

The shift in Katara’s voice was immediately obvious. “Shit, what’s wrong? Did it go badly?” 

“Yeah, you could say that,” Sokka muttered. “I fucked up, Katara. I’ve fucked up big time.” 

“Wait, what’s going on? What happened?” 

“Look, it’s a lot to explain. Can you just get Aang, Toph, and Suki to come over to our place and I’ll be there soon? I think I need all of you guys tonight.” 

“Yeah, absolutely,” Katara replied, tone shifting into mom mode. “I’ll call all of them. You just get yourself home. Whatever happened, I’m sure we can work it out.” 

Sokka laughed, but it wasn’t genuine. It was bitter, and it was sad because he knew he had royally screwed himself. 

“Thanks Katara. I’ll be home soon.” 

And with that, he hung up.

“BLUE IS ZUKO?!”

Katara’s yell echoed throughout the apartment, making Sokka wince as his four friends all gaped at him. 

When Sokka had gotten home, the four of them were already waiting for him. Katara had ordered takeout food for the group, Aang had hugged him as soon as he walked in the door, Toph had given him a sympathy punch in the arm, and Suki—bless her heart—had brought beer. 

So now, with a styrofoam container of Korean fried chicken in his lap and a cold beer in his hand, Sokka was still reeling from his run in with Zuko only a little over an hour ago. He was sitting on the couch, with Katara on one side of him, Suki on the other, and Aang and Toph sitting on chairs across from them. 

“I know, that was my reaction exactly,” Sokka said, burying his face in his hands. 

“Okay, but are you sure it was him?” Aang asked, a bite of salad halfway to his mouth. 

“Sokka said he was holding the flower they agreed on, I dunno how it can be any more obvious than that,” Toph pointed out, folding her hands behind her head. 

“It could’ve been a coincidence,” Suki shrugged. 

“The same flower at the same store and the same time I’m supposed to be meeting Blue?” Sokka questioned. 

Suki bit her lip and glanced away. “Yeah, that’s a good point.” 

“I can’t believe Blue is the same guy who’s dating Jet,” Katara grumbled, folding her arms over her chest. 

“Well, actually,” Sokka started, trying not to wince as his embarrassment welled up again. “After hiding my flower so he wouldn’t know it was me, I asked him if he was there to meet Jet, and he told me they broke up a few months ago.” 

At this, Katara’s eyes widened. 

“Oh my god, this whole time?” 

Sokka nodded, burying his face in his hands. “Yeah, exactly. I’ve been hating Zuko for months when it turns out he and Jet haven’t been dating in forever.” 

Beside him, Suki sucked in a breath between her teeth. “That’s a bit awkward.” 

“Tell me about it,” Sokka groaned. 

“So you didn’t tell him you’re Boomerang?” Aang asked, setting his fork down in his takeout container. 

“No way, dude. Zuko hates me. If I told him I was Boomerang he probably would’ve kicked my ass right then and there.” 

“I would’ve paid to watch that,” Toph said with a snort, throwing her feet up on the coffee table. 

“Thanks for the support, Toph,” Sokka deadpanned. “Seriously guys, I just don’t know what I should do now! I’ve been an ass to the guy who I’ve considered one of my closest friends for no reason and now he hates me!” He flopped backwards onto the couch, his takeout container of fried chicken just barely staying on his lap with the movement. 

There was a hand on Sokka’s shoulder, and suddenly he was being turned to face Suki. 

“Sokka, take a deep breath and try to think things through,” Suki ordered, her dark eyes staring him down. He did as she said. Counting to 4 while inhaling, holding it for 4 seconds, and then exhaling for 8 seconds. Just like she showed him back when they were in secondary school. 

Suki did the breathing with him, and slowly Sokka got his heart rate under control. He was still upset, but his thoughts were no longer racing through his head at a hundred miles an hour. When Suki saw he had calmed down, she smiled and squeezed his shoulder. 

“Okay, good. So first off, do you still want to be friends with Blue now that you know he’s Zuko?” Suki asked, raising her eyebrows at him. 

“Of course I do!” Sokka blurted out without thinking. “Blue’s my best friend, and while Zuko annoys the hell out of me Blue has still gotta be in him somewhere. I’m not just going to ditch Blue because I only know one side of him in real life.” 

Yes, Zuko pissed him off to no end. Yes, Zuko had always seemed like a grumpy, stuck-up, condescending prick. But it’s not as if Sokka had ever tried to really be nice to him. Besides, it was like he had said, Blue had to be in there somewhere. 

“That’s what I thought,” Suki said, nodding in approval. “So now we have to come up with a plan for you to get Zuko not to hate you so you can tell him that you’re Boomerang.” 

“Yeah, that’s a great idea!” Aang chimed in. “You can befriend Zuko as Sokka, and then you can tell him that you’re Boomerang when you think you’re ready.” 

“Do you think I can even do that though? Befriend Zuko?” Sokka asked, looking between Suki and Aang. 

“Well, you only hated him because of a misunderstanding,” Toph pointed out. “You could just explain that you thought he was still dating a douchebag.” 

“I don’t think explaining that will help his case all that much,” Katara muttered. 

“I mean, he needs to start somewhere, right?” Aang said. “Obviously he can’t just be like, ‘yeah I hated you because you were dating Jet’ and expect things to be alright. But he can say he wants to try being friends again and see if they can build a relationship from there?” 

Sokka thought about Aang's suggestion. Apologizing for the misunderstanding, and then trying to build a friendship after that. It wouldn’t be easy, Sokka knew. He’d have to make sure Zuko knew he was being genuine. And there was no guarantee Zuko would even agree to trying to be friends with Sokka, in which case he was really fucked. 

But Sokka couldn’t really seem to think of another alternative that could work. Besides, Sokka was curious as to what Zuko was like when he wasn’t snapping at him. He wanted to see if his theory was right, and if Zuko really was like Blue when he was talking to people he liked. 

Ideas already began to pop in his head for how he could apologize to Zuko and explain the misunderstanding about Jet. If there was any way he could get himself out of this royally screwed situation, this was it. 

“I think I know what I’m gonna do now,” Sokka told his friends. 

“What’s your plan, Mr. Plan Guy?” Katara asked, resting her hand on her chin. 

“First, I gotta find out what kind of coffee Zuko likes to drink.”

The day after Sokka’s revelation, he went to work with a spring in his step and anxiety buzzing around his chest. 

He had a plan now. After talking with his friends the night before, Sokka had slowly built out a general plan for how he was going to take his and Zuko’s relationship from ‘you’re an asshole’ to ‘hey there my good buddy good pal’. First and foremost, Sokka had to bring a peace offering to Zuko and explain the misunderstanding regarding Jet. This was the most crucial part of the entire thing, because if Zuko didn’t accept Sokka’s apology, he was just straight up screwed and would probably have to cut contact with Blue entirely. 

As he walked to work early that morning, Sokka practiced the conversation over and over again in his head. How he was going to explain his thought process to Zuko and why he hated Jet so much. 

He had the morning shift with Suki again. Like usual, he made both of them drinks when she arrived, and they worked through the morning rush without an issue. The only difference was that now Sokka was continuously glancing at his phone, waiting for his text from Ty Lee to tell him to bring her coffee over. 

Sure enough, right around 11 am, Sokka felt his phone buzz and nearly dropped the espresso shot he was holding. 

**Ty Lee:** Hey Sokka!! Can I get a mocha frappe large with extra whipped cream please???

**Sokka:** yeah sure thing

**Sokka:** also like

**Sokka:** just out of curiosity

**Sokka:** what kind of coffee does zuko like?

**Ty Lee:** Uh

**Ty Lee:** You’re asking about what Zuko likes???

**Sokka:** yeahhhhhh I uh

**Sokka:** owe him an apology about something

**Sokka:** so I wanna bring him a drink on the house

**Ty Lee:** Oh okay!

**Ty Lee:** Um well he doesn’t really like coffee all that much actually

**Ty Lee:** But he likes tea! I think jasmine is his favorite?

**Ty Lee:** So if you have any of that it should be good

**Ty Lee:** That’s really sweet of you btw 

**Sokka:** I don’t really think it’s sweet since I’m the one who messed up but thanks

**Sokka:** anyway I think we have some jasmine here so I’ll get started on that

**Sokka:** OH

**Sokka:** does mai want anything?? I’d feel bad bringing you and Zuko drinks and not bringing her anything

**Ty Lee:** She’s not working today, but thank you for thinking of her!!

**Sokka:** no prob! see you in a sec

Pocketing his phone, Sokka started on the frappe trying to think of how he should make Zuko’s jasmine tea. Should he just put some hot water and let it steep? Or was there a more specific way he needed to brew it? Sokka now remembered that Blue was a tea snob, so it made sense that Zuko didn’t drink coffee. 

Blue had told him once before what the best way to make tea was, so once Sokka was finished with the frappe, he pulled out his phone and searched the word tea in their text history. 

Sure enough, there was a detailed account of Blue telling him how to make the perfect cup of tea. 

Grabbing the jasmine, Sokka got to work. He had to get the water to around 80 degrees Celsius before he could drop the leaves in, and then Blue had said to wait for 3 minutes to get the perfect flavor. 

As he waited for the tea to steep, Sokka read back over his texts with Blue. It was weird because now Sokka was trying to imagine Zuko’s voice over Blue’s words. In a way, it sounded wrong, because it was Zuko’s voice and Sokka was still struggling to reconcile that Blue and Zuko were one in the same. But in another way, Zuko’s voice fit Blue? Oddly enough? Sokka wasn’t sure how else he imagined Blue’s voice before he knew he was Zuko, but it just worked. 

The tea finished steeping and Sokka hurriedly strained out the leaves and poured it into a cup. Popping a lid on the drink, Sokka swirled some whipped cream on top of Ty Lee’s drink, and with a wave to Suki, he picked up both cups and rushed out of the store. 

Once outside the tattoo parlor, Sokka took a deep breath to steady his shaking hands. This was the moment of truth. Where he tried to make things right between him and Zuko. 

Him and Blue. 

Sokka pushed open the door, and was greeted with the sound of blaring pop punk music and the buzz of a tattoo gun. 

Ty Lee was sitting at her usual chair, leaning close to a rather buff man as she ran her tattoo gun over his arm. She glanced up as Sokka walked in, the tattoo gun remaining steady in her hand as she smiled at him. 

“Hey Sokka! You can just put my drink on the table right behind me,” Ty Lee greeted, quickly turning her gaze back to the tattoo she was doing. The guy beneath her was wincing in pain with every drag of the gun, and when Sokka looked down at his arm, he could just make out some kind of bunny design Ty Lee was creating on his bronze skin. 

“It looks good,” Sokka commented as he set the drink down where she had told him to. He glanced up at the client. “You like bunnies, dude?” 

“This is for my pet rabbit, Dan Tat,” the guy said, wincing again. “He’s my little buddy.” 

“Valid,” Sokka said, unsure of how else to respond as he stepped away from Ty Lee’s tattoo space. 

Looking across the shop, Sokka quickly spotted Zuko sitting in his own section of the parlor next to an empty chair. He wasn’t looking up at Sokka, instead keeping his eyes locked on a sketchbook, almost as if he was purposefully avoiding Sokka’s gaze. 

Figuring he might as well not waste anymore time, Sokka took another breath before making his way over. 

“Uh, hey Zuko,” Sokka greeted awkwardly, shoving his free hand in his pocket. 

Zuko glanced up at Sokka through his bangs, eyes narrowing when he saw Sokka standing in front of him. “Are you here to tell me I have a stick shoved up my ass again?” 

Sokka winced. He’d forgotten he said that to Zuko a few days before. 

“Uh, no, I’m not. I’m actually here to, uh, give you this,” he said, holding out the cup of tea. “Ty Lee said you like jasmine tea.” 

Glancing between the cup and Sokka, Zuko’s eyes narrowed even further. “You… brought me tea?” 

Gulping, Sokka nodded. “Yeah, I just, y’know, realized I always bring drinks for Ty Lee but never for you and-” 

“What, did you poison it or something?” Zuko asked. 

“What? No, of course not!” Sokka exclaimed. Zuko didn’t seem very convinced, and after a moment of silence stretched out between them, Sokka sighed and pulled the cup back towards him. “Look, is there a place we can talk in private real quick? I wanna clear something up between us.” 

Giving him a wary look, Zuko looked back down at his sketches, as if debating whether or not it was worth it to waste his precious drawing time by talking to Sokka. As the silence stretched on, Sokka wondered if Zuko was even going to agree to talk to him at all. 

But then, Zuko shut the sketchbook and pushed himself to his feet. At this point, Sokka realized he had never actually been this close to Zuko before with both of them standing up, and he noticed that he and Zuko were almost the exact same height. 

“We can talk in the back,” Zuko said, before turning heel and making his way towards the back of the parlor. Sokka shot a nervous look to Ty Lee as he followed, but Ty Lee was too focused on her client to give him any form of reassurance. 

There was a red curtain embroidered with golden thread that separated the back room from the front. Zuko pushed it aside without issue, but didn’t bother to hold it up for Sokka. 

The back room seemed to be just a storage space. There were towers of cardboard boxes lined all around, with different labels like ‘needles’ and ‘spare ink’. As the curtain fell shut behind Sokka, Zuko leaned against one of the cardboard towers, folding his arms over his chest. 

“Alright, what do you wanna talk about?” Zuko asked. His tone wasn’t hostile, but it certainly wasn’t friendly either. There was an impatient edge to his voice, making it obvious that he just wanted this conversation done with as soon as possible. 

Gritting his teeth, Sokka squeezed his eyes shut to remind himself that this was Blue. This was his best friend. He had every right to be pissed at Sokka right now and Sokka had to hold his temper if he was going to ever have a chance at fixing things. 

“Okay, I wanted to apologize for, well, the way I’ve acted towards you basically ever since I met you,” Sokka began. “I’ve been a righteous asshole to you for months now and it wasn’t cool of me.” 

Zuko raised a single eyebrow. “What, did seeing me alone at Meet Fresh make you pity me that much?” 

“Wh- no! It’s not that,” Sokka rushed to explain. “Yes it has to do with what we talked about yesterday but I’m not doing this out of pity. I genuinely feel bad for being a dick.” 

“Okay, enlighten me with what caused your sudden change of heart then,” Zuko said. 

Nodding to himself, Sokka thought back to the practice runs of the conversation he’d gone over this morning. 

“Look, six months ago when I had just started bringing Ty Lee her coffee, I walked in on you and Jet kissing,” Sokka began. “Almost a year ago, Jet had been dating my little sister, Katara. Then, out of nowhere, he broke her heart and dumped her. None of us knew what the hell had happened, and he refused to explain why he was breaking up with her. It hadn’t even been a full 2 months since that happened that I walked in on you and him swapping spit in the middle of the tattoo parlor. So suffice to say, I was pissed at you on behalf of my sister.” 

Zuko blinked slowly at Sokka as the pieces fell into place. “So this whole time you thought I was dating the dude that broke your sister’s heart, and you decided the best way to deal with that was by being an asshole to me?” 

Man, it really did sound stupid when Zuko said it like that. 

“...yeah, it was a bad move on my part,” Sokka admitted. “I didn’t realize you guys had broken up.” 

“Yeah, we broke up because he’s an overly righteous prick who doesn’t listen to anyone’s opinions but his own,” Zuko told him. 

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Sokka said quietly, letting his gaze drop to the floor. “But seriously, that doesn’t make what I did okay. I shouldn’t have blamed you for Jet’s problems.” 

“No, you shouldn’t have,” Zuko agreed. 

“I know. But I want to try and start over,” Sokka explained, forcing himself to look up and meet Zuko’s eyes again. He held out the jasmine tea once more, and Zuko’s piercing gaze looked at the drink in surprise—like he’d forgotten it was there. 

“So… you want to be friends now?” Zuko questioned. 

“If you’re okay with it I’d like to give it a shot?” 

For a moment, Sokka thought he was just going to say no and leave. But he stayed silent, eyes flickering between Sokka’s face and the still steaming cup of tea. 

Slowly, he took the cup out of Sokka’s hand. He sniffed the top, looking surprised but not grossed out. Then, he lifted the drink to his lips, and took a sip. 

For a moment, Zuko didn’t react. But then, his eyes widened, and he looked towards Sokka like he couldn’t believe he had made the tea. 

“This… is really good,” Zuko said, seeming confused. “How long did you steep it for?” 

“3 minutes,” Sokka answered. 

“At what temperature?” 

“80 degrees.” 

Zuko frowned and took another sip. 

“That’s exactly how my uncle taught me to make it,” he murmured, more to himself than to Sokka. 

Sokka waited, clasping and unclasping his hands in front of him in nervousness. After a few more beats of silence, Zuko sighed. 

“Fine, we can start over,” he finally said. At those words, Sokka had to hold himself back from fist pumping the air as relief spread through him. Zuko accepted his apology, _and_ he liked the tea Sokka had made for him. 

“I really appreciate it, dude,” Sokka said. 

Zuko waved a hand as a kind of brush off gesture, and took another sip of the tea as he made his way out of the back room with Sokka following eagerly behind. 

Walking back to his chair, Zuko reached into a backpack, and began digging around. When he pulled out a wallet, Sokka immediately realized what he was doing and shook his head. 

“Nope! No need to pay for the tea,” Sokka told him. 

“But Ty Lee pays you for her drinks, I need to pay you for this,” Zuko said, giving Sokka a confused look. 

“Not today. Consider this ‘sorry for being an asshole because you were dating my sister’s ex’ tea on the house,” Sokka explained. 

“Huh. Thanks,” Zuko said. 

“No problem, bud!” Figuring he should get back to his shift, Sokka turned on his heel to leave, when he heard someone call to him from behind. 

“Wait, Sokka.” Turning around, Sokka saw Zuko staring at him from his corner of the parlor, the tea still in his hand. “Do you, uh, think you can bring me more of this tea tomorrow? I’ll pay for it of course.” 

A wide grin spread across Sokka’s face. “Sure thing, dude! Same time as when I bring Ty Lee’s drink?” 

Zuko nodded. “Yeah, that sounds good.” 

“Awesome. I’ll see you tomorrow, then!” Sokka said as he pushed out of the shop. 

“See you tomorrow,” Zuko called out softly as the door shut behind him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hehe now we're at the main premise of this fic, aka 'Sokka tries to befriend Zuko bc he was an asshole' 
> 
> You guys will have fun, trust me :)
> 
> Also shoutout to my amazing artist for this bang, Beignetbenny, for making the flower spacer I used in this chapter! It's so pretty I love it sm <3
> 
> Please leave a comment if you enjoyed! This will most likely keep updating every other day, so make sure to subscribe so you get the notifs. 
> 
> Feel free to hit me up on tumblr @thatsnotrelevant


	3. boba tea

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a late night run in

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapter 3 WOOHOO
> 
> this is a very cute chapter if I do say so myself, hope you guys enjoy!

It was very late at night, and Sokka was very tired. 

There was a lot going on in his head right now. After his shift at the shop that day, he’d spent the rest of the afternoon and evening trying to work on his current project because the deadline for the next progress check was only a week away. Originally he’d thought that this last section would be easy to get through, but it turns out his entire concept regarding the rotation speed of the wheel compared to the energy input was entirely wrong. 

He had struggled to rethink it. To figure out a different way to spin it. To find some goddamn way to make it so that his entire project that he had spent the last three months on wasn’t a complete waste of his time. 

Sokka had always been good at concepts. Drawing up designs for inventions as a child, figuring out how each piece would fit into the function of the object as a whole, working through the concepts of velocity and acceleration long before school ever taught him the words for those things. This had always been the type of stuff he was drawn to. That’s why he’d always thought that this was the right path for him. He had the brain for it. Most people got tripped up by the math of it all. Sokka actually didn’t mind the math. It was straightforward. Use this equation for this situation and plug in these numbers. It was figuring out how to make the math work that was the hard part. 

Since he had started pursuing his masters, Sokka had begun to wonder if this was really what he wanted to do. In college, by the time his third year had rolled around, Sokka had hated his major. The work was hard, the professors were assholes, and he was always busy. But all his TA’s had assured him it was okay. Grad school would be better. He’d have more freedom to focus on what he _wanted_ to make. He’d be able to actually make all the ideas constantly bouncing around in his head into a reality. 

At first, they had been right. Grad school had been such a vast improvement. 

But now here Sokka was at midnight on a Tuesday, nearly in tears because no matter how he tried to wrap his brain around what was written on his sketches, it didn’t work out. 

His eyes were blurring with both exhaustion and sadness, and the words in his notes weren’t even making sense in his mind anymore. He read a sentence, and then he read it again, and then he tried to read it a third time but the words just didn’t stick. It was at this point that Sokka realized he should probably take a break. He had been going at this for nearly ten hours straight. If he was going to find a solution tonight, he would’ve found it already. 

Forcing himself to close his laptop and his notebooks, Sokka shoved off his bed and made his way out of his room. The kitchen lights were off, the steady buzz of Katara’s fans humming from inside her closed room. She had come home a few hours before, poked her head into Sokka’s room to ask what he was up to. When Sokka had only vaguely gestured to his work and muttered something about his project, Katara had given him an understanding nod and closed the door. She knew the grind more intimately than he might ever know. 

Grabbing a glass, Sokka poured himself some water from the pitcher in their fridge, when his stomach let out a rather impressive growl. It was loud enough that Sokka actually glanced over to Katara’s room to see if she had woken up from the noise. Thankfully, her door stayed shut. 

Sipping at his water, Sokka tried to remember the last time he’d eaten. After getting off work he’d stopped at a Vietnamese place for a banh mi. He’d eaten it there, and then had gone home to work on his project. 

His stomach growled again. That had been about ten hours ago. 

Opening up the fridge to put the water back, Sokka looked around the shelves to see what he could make. He saw a plate of lo mai gai with plastic pulled over it, and figured Katara must’ve made that earlier. He could eat that. Katara knew how to make the sticky rice just sticky enough, and she always made sure to add shrimp since any seafood reminded both of them of their childhood. 

But for some reason, lo mai gai just didn’t sound very good right now. Sokka saw a leftover tub of rice, and knew he could just heat that up to eat it. There was also a carton of eggs, so he could make scrambled eggs too. Still, none of that sounded very good. 

Closing the fridge, Sokka moved over to the pantry. He opened the doors, scanning for a bag of chips or something he could snack on. 

Then, he saw it. 

A box. A box shoved into the far back corner of the pantry. A red box. One with an image on the front that made his mouth water. 

_Brownie mix._

That was it. This was exactly what he was craving right now. Something sweet, easy to make, and full of chocolate. It was the cure for the tension headache still throbbing behind his eyes. 

Taking out the mix, Sokka skimmed the back of the instructions. He’d need water, eggs, and vegetable oil. He already had the eggs, and he obviously had water, so all that was left was to find where Katara had put the vegetable oil. 

Sokka dug through the pantry, he looked under the sink, he even climbed on the counter so he could see on top of the fridge. No matter where he looked though, he couldn’t find vegetable oil. 

And just like that, his brownie dreams were crushed. 

Until he remembered that there was a Wellcome right down the street that was open 24 hours. 

Before Sokka even realized what he was doing, he was throwing a jacket on, shoving his phone and his keys into his pocket, and made his way out of his apartment. 

The walk down to the store was rather peaceful. It wasn’t so late that the streets were completely deserted, but there were very few people out and about like Sokka was. He watched a few drunkards stagger past, presumably having gone out drinking after a bad day at work. A few teenagers walked around in small groups, huddled together and keeping their heads down as they spoke between hushed giggles. There was even a jogger, apparently determined to keep up his health regimen despite the late hour. 

Still, despite the tranquility of the night around him, Sokka was unable to clear his mind like he so desperately wanted to. It was obvious even to him that making brownies at midnight was a pathetic excuse to distract himself from his anxiety. Every time he thought about his project, his chest would start to tighten, and tears would burn behind his eyes once more. He didn’t belong in this field, yet here he was working his ass off to try and get a stupid degree that was probably always going to be out of reach for him. But instead of trying to deal with this giant mistake he’d wasted so many years of his life on, he was going to the store to buy vegetable oil in the dead of night. 

God, he was pathetic. 

Sokka winced at the harsh fluorescent lights as he stepped into the store. There weren’t a lot of people inside, just a person here and there milling about the different aisles. Sokka’s stomach was still growling at the thought of those brownies, and he tried to shove his worries to the back of his mind as his tired eyes scanned the shelves. 

It didn’t take long to find the vegetable oil. He grabbed a bottle of it off the low shelf, and beelined for the register, wanting to minimize the amount of time he was stuck with his thoughts as much as possible. 

There was only one register open. A woman in a business suit was in front of him, with a bottle of beer and a pack of ramen being the only things she was purchasing. Sokka danced from foot to foot as he waited, imagining how good the brownies were going to taste once he made them. 

Finally, it was his turn. Sokka moved up to the cashier, handing her the bottle of vegetable oil. She scanned it and told him the total, and he reached for his wallet in his back pocket so he could pay. 

But… there was no wallet in his back pocket. 

Eyes widening, Sokka suddenly flashed back to when he was leaving the apartment. He had grabbed his phone, and he had grabbed his keys… but his wallet had been in the backpack he’d brought to work that day. 

The backpack that was still sitting next to his bed. 

No. No, he hadn’t forgotten his wallet. He wouldn’t have done something as stupid as that. 

Sokka dug around in his pockets, trying to find the black pouch that had his cards and his cash. But it wasn’t there. Shit. No. Not now. He would have to walk all the way back to his apartment, grab his wallet, and come all the way back here to buy the vegetable oil. All to make some stupid fucking brownies. 

The cashier gave him a confused look, and Sokka’s heart began to pound as frustrated tears welled up in his eyes. Nothing could go right for him today. Nothing at all. He was a fuck up. He couldn’t even remember to grab his own goddamn wallet to go to the store. What the hell was wrong with him? 

“Sir, are you going to pay for this?” The woman asked, blinking at him. 

Sokka took a shaky breath, trying to will the tears to go down. 

“Um, I forgot, uh, my wallet,” he choked out, clenching his fist so hard he could feel his fingernails breaking the skin of his palm. He was panicking. He could tell. His thoughts were bouncing all over the place, thinking about his project and the brownies and how he had to be up early again for work tomorrow and how he couldn’t do anything right-

“So you don’t have any form of payment?” The woman questioned. 

Taking another breath and squeezing his eyes shut, Sokka nodded, hoping he could get out of the store before he had a complete breakdown in front of all these people. 

“Then I’m going to have to ask you to leave-” 

“I’ll pay for him,” a familiar voice behind Sokka said. 

Whipping his head up, the racing of Sokka’s thoughts screeched to a halt when he saw the last person he expected to see in a Wellcome at midnight offering to pay for his groceries. 

It was Zuko. 

He had a shopping basket in his hand, and was resting it on the conveyor belt. Inside Sokka saw a bag of hot cheetos and a pack of batteries. He didn’t seem annoyed or upset, but he was giving Sokka an unreadable look as he handed his items to the cashier to scan. 

It had been a little over a week since Sokka had apologized to Zuko. Now whenever he came into the tattoo parlor to bring Ty Lee her drink, he would bring Zuko a cup of jasmine tea as well. The two had chatted a bit during the deliveries, with Sokka asking Zuko about the new designs he was working on or Zuko asking Sokka what tea selection they had at the shop. For the most part, their days of bickering seemed over. 

But that was the extent of it. They would make idle chit chat when Sokka brought the drinks over, and that would be their interaction for the day. Sokka was still texting Blue on a daily basis, but his relationship with Zuko seemed to be set at ‘acquaintances’, and he was struggling to figure out how to progress things further. 

Now was arguably one of the worst times he could’ve unexpectedly run into the guy he was trying desperately to befriend. 

Sokka was so shocked at seeing him here, he could only watch as Zuko handed the woman his card, paying for both his items and Sokka’s vegetable oil. Then, he grabbed the chips, shoved the battery pack in his pocket, and handed the oil to Sokka. 

Together they walked out of the shop, the sliding doors dinging with their exit. 

The cool night air hit Sokka’s hot face, and a weight lifted itself off his chest. He took a relieved breath, burying his face in his hands and struggling to steady his heartbeat from his near panic attack only minutes ago. 

After a few seconds, he lifted his head back up, and saw that Zuko was staring at him. 

Shit. He owed him a thank you. 

“Um, thanks for, uh, buying this,” Sokka said, holding up the oil. “I can venmo you right now if you want.” 

“Or you can just make my tea tomorrow free,” Zuko shrugged.

“Oh yeah, that works too,” he replied, dropping his eyes from Zuko’s. 

There was a moment of silence between them. Sokka was shuffling his feet, wondering if he should just say goodbye and go home to make the brownies, or if Zuko was going to leave on his own. But after a few beats, Zuko spoke. 

“Can I ask why you were trying to buy vegetable oil at midnight?” 

“I was, uh, trying to make brownies but I needed vegetable oil,” Sokka explained, shoving his free hand in his pocket. 

“You were baking this late?” 

Usually, Sokka would crack some joke here about how his cravings were a force to be reckoned with. But he was tired, his head still hurt, and he just didn’t have the energy for it. 

“I just wanted them,” he answered in a small voice, hoping Zuko wouldn’t push further. 

Another moment of silence passed between them. At first, Sokka kept his eyes on the ground, figuring it was easier than trying to school his expression so he didn’t look like he was on the edge of a breakdown. But as the quiet stretched on, Sokka’s curiosity got the better of him, so he glanced up. 

Zuko was staring at him with that same unreadable expression that he had in the store. It wasn’t so much confusion as it was…understanding. Almost like he knew exactly what Sokka wasn’t telling him. 

Sokka was about to open his mouth to say he had to go, when Zuko spoke up again. 

“This is sort of a weird question, but are you free right now?” 

_Huh._

“I mean, I was just gonna go bake brownies and pass out, so I don’t exactly have any pressing obligations to get back to if that’s what you’re asking.” 

“Look, do you, uh,” suddenly seeming unsure of himself, Zuko brought a hand up to scratch the back of his neck. “There’s something I wanna show you, if you’re okay with hanging out for a bit.” 

Hang out? At midnight? 

If this had been a week ago, before Sokka had known that Zuko was Blue, he would’ve thought that Zuko was going to straight up murder him. After all, randomly saying you had something to show someone you barely know in the dead of night wasn’t exactly a normal thing to do. 

But Sokka trusted Blue, and therefore he trusted Zuko. 

So despite how weird Zuko’s offer was, Sokka swallowed down his suspicion. 

“Yeah, sure, why not.” 

Zuko’s answering smile was so bright, Sokka wouldn’t even care if this did turn out to be some murderous trap. 

“Alright, follow me.” 

Zuko led Sokka away from the Wellcome and in the opposite direction of his apartment. There were even less people out now than there had been when Sokka was making his way over here. No one paid Sokka and Zuko much mind, despite the fact that Sokka was literally walking around with a bottle of vegetable oil in his hand. It was just that time of night, y’know? 

Once they were about a block away from the Wellcome, Zuko veered to the right. He seemed to know exactly where they were going, without any need to check a map. Sokka wondered if Zuko was taking him to his house, if the thing he had to show him was inside whatever apartment he rented. Maybe he wanted to grab his sketchbook? Show Sokka a new design he was working on? But then why wouldn’t he just text it to Sokka? 

Soon, Sokka recognized the area they were in. It was a part of their neighborhood that was known for being popular with college students, thanks to its cheap convenience stores and a myriad of fun food places. It actually wasn’t too far from the coffee shop. The only reason Sokka didn’t come here that often was because it was in the opposite direction of his own apartment from the coffee shop. 

It was eerie though, seeing this neighborhood at night. All the stores that usually had bright signs in front advertising whatever colorful dessert they were serving were all dark. The only light here was the orange glow of the street lamps above their heads. 

“We’re here,” Zuko announced, stopping so suddenly Sokka almost ran into his back. 

Frowning, Sokka followed Zuko’s gaze and realized they were standing in front of a boba tea shop. Like the rest of the shops on this street, it was closed for the night. The windows were dark, the blinds were shut, and the light up sign across the top that read ‘The Jasmine Dragon’ was turned off. 

“Uh, Zuko, buddy, I like boba tea but I think this place is closed,” Sokka said. 

“My uncle owns this shop,” Zuko told him, still looking at the sign with a small smile. “He started it himself almost ten years ago.” 

“Well… it seems like a nice place. I’ll have to come here in the daytime to try it sometime,” Sokka said, unsure of what Zuko had brought him here for. 

“Sokka, I have the keys,” Zuko replied, reaching into his jean pockets and pulling out a small ring of keys. 

Sokka raised an eyebrow. “Is your uncle gonna be okay with us just… going inside to hang out in the middle of the night?” 

“He doesn’t mind,” Zuko shrugged, already walking towards the doors. Picking out a shiny silver key with a piece of green tape wrapped around it, Zuko unlocked the glass doors and held it open, gesturing for Sokka to step through. Sokka did so, and after Zuko followed, he shut the door behind them. 

The lights were off in the boba shop. From the glow of the street lamps outside, Sokka could make out tables scattered around, their chairs propped up on top. Zuko weaved through this maze with practiced ease, and Sokka could barely make him out in the shadows as he got further and further away. 

Sokka hung back, a grateful sigh escaping him when the lights flickered on overhead. 

Now, Sokka could see that Zuko was standing behind the counter at the back of the shop. He was digging through drawers, seemingly looking for something. At one point he ducked down and disappeared completely, the only sign he was still there being the sound of clinking pots. 

“What do you want?” Zuko suddenly asked, popping his head up from behind the counter. 

“Huh?” 

“Boba tea. What do you want to drink?” Zuko continued, pointing to the menu above his head. 

“You… know how to make boba tea?” Sokka questioned. 

Zuko rolled his eyes. “Yeah, I worked here when I was a teenager. Whenever I come here I usually make myself something to drink.” 

Sokka tried to imagine a teenage Zuko working here, stuck making boba tea for hours on end. With his near permanent scowl and his deadpan voice, he couldn’t imagine that Zuko was a very popular barista. It made him want to laugh. 

Glancing up to the menu, Sokka skimmed over the options, quickly figuring out what he wanted. 

“I’ll have, uh, taro milk tea with 50% sugar,” Sokka recited, defaulting to his usual order. 

Zuko nodded and ducked back down behind the counter, digging around a bit more. Sokka walked over to the customer side of the counter, leaning against it to stare out at the shop. 

“Y’know, I really can’t picture you as a barista,” Sokka said, smiling again at the mental image of angry teen Zuko. “Did you like working here?” 

“I did,” Zuko answered, rising up with an armful of ingredients. He set down the milk, taro powder, a bag of tapioca pearls, some tea bags, and a plastic container of lychee jelly. “It’s gonna take a minute to cook the boba, is that okay?” 

“Why would I complain? You’re literally making me boba tea in the middle of the night,” Sokka snorted. 

“Fair point,” Zuko conceded. 

Sokka watched as he pulled out a pot from under the counter, and filled it with boiling water to cook the tapioca. Zuko explained that usually they had a big vat full of boba already cooked to throw into the tea, but obviously he didn’t have that right now since the store was closed. 

It was weird, watching Zuko in what was apparently a very familiar setting for him. His hands moved quickly from ingredient to machine. Powder and milk, no measuring, just knowing the perfect amount. Throwing some tea bags into a cup of water to steep, orange-gold slowly staining the liquid. Waiting for the water to boil before dumping the tapioca pearls in there, going about his other duties as he waited for it to cook. 

Soon, a sugary smell began to waft towards Sokka, and his earlier craving for something sweet came back full force. Sokka could barely hide his excitement as Zuko dumped the sticky boba into the bottom of a plastic cup, then scooped some ice in there, and then poured the purple milk mixture on top of it. Then, he took another cup, scooped some lychee jelly out of the container, and threw it in the bottom. Then there was the ice, and the golden tea Sokka had seen him making. Lastly was the plastic top. The machine whirred to life as it pressed plastic onto Sokka’s cup, and then onto Zuko’s as well. 

Zuko slid the cup of tea over to Sokka, along with a straw he grabbed from behind the counter. 

It was a pale lilac color, with dark boba settled at the bottom. Lifting up the cup, Sokka swirled it gently, noticing how there was the perfect amount of ice. Quickly Sokka opened the straw and stabbed it through the top, swirling the boba at the bottom around for a few seconds before taking his first sip. 

It was very sweet, which Sokka had been expecting, with an almost… fluffy taste to it. Vanilla-y but not vanilla at the same time. This was the taro that Sokka was so familiar with. And then, the boba reached his mouth, and the warm chewiness contrasting with the icy liquid… it was perfectly cooked. 

“Holy shit,” Sokka muttered as he swallowed his first sip. 

“Do you like it?” Zuko asked, already having started sipping at his own drink. 

“Like it?” Sokka’s eyebrows shot up to his hairline. “Dude, this is the best boba I’ve ever had. How the hell did you do this?” 

Red bloomed on Zuko’s unscarred cheek. 

“Oh, uh, I just… made it. I dunno. I do what my uncle taught me.” 

“Your uncle must be, like, the boba tea god then. Because I’ve had a lot of boba, but nothing compares to this,” Sokka said, pointing to his drink while grinning. He took another long sip, and moaned at the taste. “Oh my god this is so good. Zuko, you’ve opened up a dangerous door, my friend. I now know that you make amazing boba tea, and I’m definitely going to take advantage of that from now on.” 

To Sokka’s surprise, Zuko laughed at this. 

“I mean, I usually make a night visit here at least once a week, so you’re welcome to join me,” Zuko offered. 

Oh. Sokka had thought this was probably a one time thing. 

“Oh, uh, thanks,” Sokka said, hiding his grin behind another sip of tea. “So do you just get boba cravings in the middle of the night a lot then?” 

It was meant to be a joke, but the smile fell from Zuko’s face as he fiddled with his straw. 

“Actually, I usually come over here if I’m upset or confused about something,” Zuko explained. “Making the tea and cooking the boba and all that helps clear my mind.” 

“Yeah that makes sense,” Sokka muttered, the slow realization dawning on him that he was probably invading Zuko’s alone time. “But if this is where you usually go if you’re upset… why did you invite me?” 

“Because you seemed like you needed it,” Zuko answered easily. 

Sokka blinked. “What do you mean by that?” 

Zuko sighed, pushing his hair out of his eyes with his hand. “Sokka, wanting to bake brownies bad enough to literally go to the store at midnight usually isn’t because you’re just desperately craving chocolate. It’s because you’re trying not to think about something so much, you’ll use anything as a distraction. Trust me, I know from personal experience.” 

Hearing those words brought all of Sokka’s anxiety rushing back. Zuko knew exactly what was going on in Sokka’s head, and had been able to recognize that Sokka was on the verge of a breakdown back at the store. A part of Sokka was embarrassed that Zuko had been able to see past his poker face so easily. But another part of him was relieved that he didn’t have to pretend that he was fine. That Zuko knew this same feeling. 

Pushing his tea away, Sokka dropped his gaze to the table. 

“Yeah I’m, uh, not having a great night,” he told Zuko in a quiet voice. Zuko didn’t reply, and Sokka took that as a cue to continue. “There’s just… this project for school I’ve been working on for a few months now. Tonight I realized I might have fucked the entire thing up and might have to start it all over and now I’m just wondering if I’m even studying the right thing.” 

“Is it too late to change your major?” Zuko asked. 

Sokka snorted. “I’m not in undergrad. I’m in a masters program for mechanical engineering.” 

“Oh…I see the problem then,” Zuko muttered, taking another sip of his tea. 

Another brief moment of quiet followed. Both sipped at their drinks, the sound of ice sloshing in plastic echoing like gunshots in the heavy silence between them. 

Shit, Sokka shouldn’t have told him. Zuko didn’t ask to hear his issues, he just said that he could tell something was wrong. Sokka could’ve just said he was having a bad night and left it at that. But now he was dumping his problems on someone he (technically) barely knew. It was his own fault. He was letting himself get too comfortable now that he knew Zuko was Blue, even though Zuko didn’t know he was Boomerang. If he didn’t reel this in, he was going to screw things up entirely. 

Sokka opened his mouth to change the subject, but Zuko suddenly spoke before he could. 

“You know, I dropped out of university,” Zuko said softly, messing with his straw. 

Sokka blinked. “You went to university?” Zuko nodded. “What were you studying?” 

“Business,” Zuko answered, without a hint of joking in his voice. 

This made Sokka’s mouth drop open. 

He tried to imagine Zuko in business. Wearing a suit with his hair neatly combed back, the tattoos on his arms hidden underneath crisp sleeves. He tried to picture Zuko in the middle of a meeting, negotiating business terms with his monotone voice and near permanent scowl. The mental image alone was enough to make Sokka want to laugh. 

_”Seriously?”_ He asked, not sure if Zuko was fucking with him or not. 

“Yeah, seriously. Growing up I always thought I was going to take over the family business, so I majored in business thinking it would help me be prepared,” he explained, his hair falling over his eyes. “Suffice to say, I hated it.” 

“So you dropped out?” Sokka asked. 

“Well, that was part of it. But also I just… realized some things about my family that made me not want to stay involved with them.” Zuko shrugged, and took another sip of his tea. “Not to mention, I found out my father was never planning on letting me take over the business. He had already promised it to my younger sister.” 

...ouch. Sokka could imagine how much of a sting that had to be. 

“I’m sorry,” Sokka murmured. “That had to suck.” 

Zuko swirled his ice in his cup again. “It’s okay. It was part of what woke me up, helped me realize I had an opportunity to get away from my father, and that I should take it.” 

“So I’m guessing you two don’t have a very good relationship?” Sokka questioned. 

A bitter laugh escaped Zuko. “Yeah, you could say that. He’s… not a good person.” Absently, he tapped at his scar with his free hand. 

“What about your mom?” Sokka asked. “Are you still close with her?” 

“My mom died when I was a kid,” Zuko said flatly. He paused for a moment, still tapping his fingers along his scar. “But… yeah. We were close.” 

Blue… never told him that. But Zuko told him. 

“I’m sorry about that,” Sokka said quietly. “I know how that feels. My mother died when I was a kid too.” 

Now this got Zuko’s attention. His fingers dropped from his face, and he glanced up, meeting Sokka’s eyes. 

“Really?” 

“Yeah. She got sick, and we used to live in a place that didn’t have access to really good healthcare. By the time we managed to fly her down to a bigger hospital, it was already too late,” Sokka explained, picking at his nails. 

“Did you live in one of the far out villages in Guangdong?” Zuko asked. 

Sokka snorted. “No, we didn’t live in China at the time. This was back when we lived in Alaska.” 

Zuko’s eyes widened. “You’re American?” 

“Uh, yeah. I really just consider myself native Alaskan, especially since I haven’t lived in the US for a long time, but technically, yeah, I have American citizenship.” Did Zuko really not know? Even though he was fluent in Cantonese, he always thought he had a pretty obvious accent. 

“I knew you weren’t Chinese, I just… didn’t think you were American,” Zuko explained. “How long have you lived in Hong Kong?” 

“We moved here when I was 11, a few years after my mom died. My dad got a really good job offer here, and at the time things weren’t great for us financially. So we came out here to basically get a new start,” Sokka told him. 

“That must’ve been really hard, moving to an entirely new country as a kid,” Zuko commented. 

“It actually wasn’t too bad. My sister and I went to an international school, so they spoke English and gave us Cantonese and Mandarin lessons. Sure, we both missed our friends, but we lived in a really small town in Alaska, so getting to live in a big city was really exciting for us.” 

“I guess I can see the appeal,” Zuko muttered. “So you and your sister both decided to stay here for college?” 

“Yeah. We both considered going back to the US for university, especially considering our dad decided to move back to Alaska, but it’s so expensive there I don’t think we could’ve afforded it. I think Katara also considered applying to some universities in Korea and Japan, but we both ended up staying in Hong Kong.” 

Zuko considered this for a moment. “What’s your sister studying?” He then asked. 

“She’s in medical school,” Sokka answered. 

“Damn, that’s impressive,” Zuko commented. 

This made Sokka snort. “Yeah, tell me about it. I might be able to understand math pretty well, but my sister is so driven, it’s almost scary. When she knows what she wants to do, she’ll make it happen.” 

It wasn’t an exaggeration. Katara had no limits when it came to achieving what she wanted to, or what she felt was right. Back when they were teenagers, Katara, Sokka, and Aang used to leave the city proper to some of the smaller villages on the outskirts of Hong Kong. Almost all of Hong Kong’s population lived in the city itself, so these villages were basically ghost towns, with walls of ivy having taken over many of the abandoned structures. 

Near one of these abandoned villages was a stream. At one point, Sokka was sure the stream had been beautiful and clear, with an entire ecosystem of fish and plants built around it. But by the time Katara, Sokka, and Aang had found their way there, it was nothing but a mess of sludge. 

It turned out there was a dam that had been built up the stream. It was designed to preserve water for some nearby construction project that had been scrapped long ago. The dam was still technically private property, but that didn’t stop Katara from blowing it up. 

Sokka admired his sister for a lot of things. She was loving, kind, and more than anything she was determined. She knew what she was going to be, and nothing was going to get in her way. 

Now if only Sokka had that same kind of determination. 

“How did you end up becoming a tattoo artist?” Sokka asked, tapping his fingers along the plastic over his cup. 

“It… wasn’t something I had ever considered before I dropped out of college,” Zuko began. “I had always liked to draw, but it was never something I seriously pursued, let alone as a career option. But after I dropped out, I decided I wanted to give my father an even bigger fuck you by getting a giant tattoo. He never approved of them, citing that they were unprofessional and I’d never be able to work in his office with them. So it was kind of my way of saying that dropping out wasn’t a whim. That I really never wanted to work for him.

“Back in secondary school, I wasn’t exactly good at making friends, so I mainly hung out with my sister and her friends. They ended up becoming my friends too, and as you know, Ty Lee became a tattoo artist. So when I decided I wanted to get a tattoo, I went to her. 

“We talked a lot about what I was going to get, and I showed her some of my sketches that I had for what I had in mind. She knew I wasn’t in university, she knew I didn’t have a job, and she liked my art style. So she offered me an apprenticeship, and after talking it over with my uncle, I decided, why not give it a try?” 

When Zuko finished speaking, he glanced down, absently tracing at the dragon that curled around his left arm. Sokka figured that must’ve been the tattoo he got from Ty Lee. 

Then, Zuko suddenly looked up. 

“What I’m trying to get at is that even if you’re not on the right path now, you’ll figure it out eventually.” 

While many people had told Sokka this before, for some reason, hearing it from Zuko was different. Maybe it was because he’d just heard about Zuko’s own turbulent path to finding his career. Or maybe it was just because of the intensity burning in Zuko’s golden eyes, the way he truly believed what he was telling Sokka. That it was going to be okay, because he was going to figure it out sooner or later. 

A weight lifted itself off of Sokka’s chest, and he smiled. 

“Thanks, that means a lot.” 

It wasn’t long after that that their drinks ran dry and they both knew it was time to leave. It was extremely late now, and Sokka still had to get up for the morning shift tomorrow. 

He waited by the door as Zuko put away all the ingredients he’d pulled out while he was making the tea for them. Neither of them spoke, Zuko focusing on cleaning the counters, and Sokka staring out into the dark streets beyond the shop windows, thinking about how he had felt so shitty just a little bit ago, and now he didn’t want this night to end so soon. 

A few minutes later, they were walking down the empty streets of the city, a bottle of vegetable oil still secured in Sokka’s hand, and a bag of hot cheetos in Zuko’s. They both lived in the same direction from The Jasmine Dragon, so they had agreed to walk together. However, neither spoke during this walk, the only sound being the tapping of their shoes against pavement as it echoed off the skyscrapers surrounding them. 

Eventually, they came to a surprisingly nice apartment building. The building was tall, modern, and newer than many of the other apartment buildings in the city. It wasn’t over the top, but it was certainly higher end then Sokka’s own place, and much nicer than where Sokka would expect someone with a tattoo artist’s salary would live. 

They stopped in front of it, Zuko shoving his free hand in his pocket and looking down at the ground. 

“So, uh, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow,” Zuko said, sounding almost unsure. 

“Yeah, you will,” Sokka muttered, desperately trying to think of how to extend their conversation by just a bit. “Thanks by the way. For tonight. I really appreciated this.” 

Zuko shrugged. “It wasn’t a problem. I had a good time.” 

“I did too,” Sokka replied. 

Zuko flashed him a small smile at this, which Sokka returned. Then, Zuko gave him a small wave, and turned around to head into his apartment building. 

Shit. Wait. He couldn’t leave yet. This was the most progress he’d made with befriending Zuko in a week. Sokka had to do something else. Had to set up another hang out, because he knew he’d feel too awkward to do it tomorrow at work. 

Suddenly, Sokka remembered the plans he had on Friday, and a brilliant idea popped into his head. 

“Uh, Zuko?” Sokka called out. 

Zuko paused, his hand outstretched for the door. “Yeah?” 

“So, like, you totally don’t have to say yes to this or anything if you don’t want to, but this Friday my friends and I are planning on going out for dim sum,” Sokka said, hoping his red cheeks weren’t visible in the orange glow of the streetlight. “Would you wanna… come with?” 

For a moment, Zuko was silent. He blinked at Sokka, and Sokka couldn’t tell if he was surprised, or if he was confused at the offer. Maybe he didn’t think they were close enough yet to hang out outside of work and weird midnight grocery store run-ins. Or maybe he was trying to figure out a polite way to say no. 

“...yeah, that sounds nice,” Zuko said softly. “I’ll go.” 

Sokka’s face split into a wide grin. 

“Awesome. I’ll text you the details tomorrow.” 

Zuko ducked his head, but Sokka could tell he was smiling again. “Night Sokka.” 

Turning back towards the street, Sokka waved back. “Goodnight Zuko.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i stress bake at midnight when i'm having mental breakdowns so of course I had to project that onto Sokka
> 
> also the homoerotic intimacy of making your kinda friend boba tea at midnight bc you saw him having a panic attack at a grocery store...
> 
> anyway I hope you guys enjoyed that chapter! It's a really fun one that I enjoyed writing a lot, so please leave a comment if you liked it! 
> 
> hmu on tumblr @thatsnotrelevant


	4. dim sum

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gaang goes out to get dim sum

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey guys! sorry for the chapter delay, i got busy yesterday and forgot to post so here's the newest chapter! thank you all so much for the love and support you've given me on this fic so far, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter because it's a fun one! 
> 
> TW: heavy descriptions of food are present in this chapter and there is drinking present after the spacer

It was Friday afternoon, and Sokka was in the middle of making himself lunch after getting home from his shift at work. Later that evening, he was going to go out with his friends for dim sum, and Zuko was going to be coming with. Sokka was excited to say the least. 

All day he had been bouncing from foot to foot, thinking about how fun the night was going to be. He wondered how his friends were going to get along with Zuko, and what Zuko would think of them. Of course, Zuko already knew Aang and Suki, but Aang was the only one he had ever talked to for an extended period of time. He’d never even met Toph or Katara before. 

Sokka hoped his friends would like Zuko. Even though Zuko didn’t realize it, he was Sokka’s best friend, and it would really suck if his friends didn’t like the person he had talked to on a near daily basis. 

But he was sure they would like him. He couldn’t see why they wouldn’t. 

However, Sokka hadn’t considered how Zuko might be feeling about meeting all of Sokka’s friends. At least not until he got a text from Blue. 

**thebluespirit** : I’m kinda freaking out

 **boomeranguy15** : huh?? About what??

 **thebluespirit** : Okay so I haven’t really updated you lately but

 **thebluespirit** : You know that guy at work that’s always been a prick to me?

Sokka winced, knowing full well Zuko was referencing him. 

**boomeranguy15** : uhhh yeah

 **boomeranguy15** : did he do something shitty again?

 **thebluespirit** : No

 **thebluespirit** : Actually like two weeks ago, he came up to me at work and apologized?? For acting like an asshole?

 **thebluespirit** : Turns out this whole time he just thought I was dating this dude who was a dick to his sister and that was the reason he was so rude to me

 **thebluespirit** : Anyway he had realized that I wasn’t dating this guy anymore and apologized and offered to be friends

 **thebluespirit** : And he’s actually a nice guy

 **thebluespirit** : Long story short he invited me to go out with him and some of his friends tonight for dim sum

 **boomeranguy15** : oh that’s great

 **boomeranguy15** : I don’t see what the issue is though??

 **boomeranguy15** : unless you actually don’t wanna go out with him and his friends

 **thebluespirit** : No I do!

 **thebluespirit** : But I just don’t know any of his friends really

 **thebluespirit** : And I’m worried I’m gonna make things awkward

It was strangely sweet, how worried he was. But Sokka also wanted to make sure Zuko was comfortable tonight, and had to figure out what to say to him to reassure him things were going to go well. 

**boomeranguy15** : look, i’m sure he wouldn’t have invited you out unless he thought you would get along with his friends

 **boomeranguy15** : honestly, I’d say your best bet is to just not overthink things

 **boomeranguy15** : try to be yourself

 **boomeranguy15** : and hey worst case just talk to the one guy most of the time

 **thebluespirit** : Ok

 **thebluespirit** : I just don’t want to fuck things up

 **thebluespirit** : Because we’re getting along really well and it’s weirdly nice

 **boomeranguy15** : i’m sure you won’t fuck things up

 **boomeranguy15** : just try to relax and have a good time

 **boomeranguy15** : it’ll go great i know it

 **thebluespirit** : Ok

 **thebluespirit** : Thank you

 **boomeranguy15** : yeah no prob

 **boomeranguy15** : I hope you have a good time

 **thebluespirit** : I hope so too :)

A part of Sokka knew this wasn’t right. Zuko was venting to him about how nervous he was for the dinner tonight, without knowing it was Sokka he was talking to. That had to be some kind of violation of trust, right? But it wasn’t like he said anything _bad_ about Sokka. In fact, Sokka was touched to know just how much Zuko didn’t want to mess this up. 

Still, he shouldn’t know that. Zuko was telling that to his friend, Boomerang. Not Sokka. 

But Sokka knew he couldn’t tell Zuko yet. Even though they were on good terms now, it had only been a few weeks. That still wasn’t going to make up for everything. He had to wait, just a bit more. Let things settle. 

(Sokka wasn’t afraid to tell Zuko or anything. Nope. No way. No siree not him.) 

After his text conversation with Blue, the rest of the afternoon seemed to fly by. He worked on his project (turns out, he didn’t need to completely redo it, but he did have to alter a lot of aspects of it), he ate leftover brownies (yes he did end up making them), and when there was only an hour before they were set to meet up, he showered so he could get ready. 

Soon, it was 7pm and he was waiting outside his apartment building with Katara as they waited for their ride. 

“You look good tonight,” Sokka commented as Katara leaned against his side, stifling a yawn with her hand. 

“Thanks, I just threw this on,” Katara shrugged, although Sokka knew full well that her white miniskirt wasn’t something she usually just ‘threw on’. 

Katara still hadn’t updated Sokka on how things were going between her and Aang. The two of them had always been close, so the fact that they were hanging out on a near daily basis wasn’t _unusual_ per se, but almost always they were joined by one of their other friends. Instead though, now the two of them were hanging out alone a lot more, which was something Sokka hadn’t seen from them since secondary school. 

Obviously Sokka didn’t care if his sister dated Aang. But when it came to Katara, he was nosy. And he was frustrated that Katara wasn’t giving him all the details on their situation. Still, he didn’t push. She would come to him with her latest boy problems when she was ready. 

But for now, the two stood in silence. Katara had rested her head on his shoulder at this point, her eyes fluttering shut as the minutes passed on. She was clearly exhausted, and a part of Sokka wanted to tell her to go back up to their apartment so she could get some sleep. But Katara was stubborn as hell. She was going to say she was fine, and that she wanted to go to dinner. She’d probably also scold Sokka while she was at it, given he didn’t get much more sleep than she did. 

So instead, he just wrapped his arms around her, letting her bury her face in his shoulder to hide from the sunlight while they waited. 

Thankfully, only a few more minutes passed before a familiar black SUV turned the corner. Sokka couldn’t see through the tinted windows, but he knew Toph’s family driver would be sitting in the front. 

The thing was, having a car in Hong Kong was expensive. So almost none of them had cars. Hell, the only reason Sokka and Katara knew how to drive was because their dad taught them during their trips back to Alaska when they would visit family. 

However, Toph’s family was rich. Like, rich rich. Her father owned some big shipping business, so not only did they have cars, but they also had hired drivers. So while usually their friend group took public transportation to get around, on occasions when they were all going for a night out together, Toph would provide the rides. 

The SUV rolled to a stop, and the front passenger door swung open to reveal a grinning Toph. “Can I just say, you two look _great_ tonight?” 

Sokka opened his mouth to thank her, before snapping it shut and frowning as he realized the joke. Katara giggled beside him, extricating herself from his arms as she opened the back passenger door. 

“I can’t believe after ten years I still fall for that,” Sokka deadpanned as he followed Katara into the backseat. 

“Honestly, I can’t believe it either,” Toph teased, shutting her own door and settling back in her seat. 

The car had two rows of backseats. Aang was sitting in the cramped back back seat, and waved Katara over. She awkwardly climbed over the seat to sit next to him, while Sokka settled himself behind Toph, with Suki sitting right behind the driver’s seat. 

As soon as everyone was buckled in, the driver took off again down the street. 

“How far does Zuko live from here?” Suki asked as they rolled to a stoplight. 

“Not far. It should only take a few minutes to drive there,” Sokka answered, leaning out the window to watch for Zuko’s building. He’d already sent Toph’s driver Zuko’s address earlier that day, so the man knew where to go. 

However, Sokka still took out his phone. Not to make sure they were going the right way, because he knew they were, but because he wanted to make sure he didn’t accidentally miss a text from Blue, in case he got nervous again. 

But no notifications popped up. Sokka could only hope that meant he was doing alright. 

When Zuko’s building came into view the SUV started to slow to a stop, and Sokka scanned the sidewalk, trying to spot a flash of his tattoos. 

With a weirdly perfect sense of timing, right as the SUV stopped completely, the front doors to the apartment building swung open and Zuko walked out. 

Zuko glanced around for a moment, clearly unsure of what his ride was going to look like. Sokka swung open the door to the SUV almost violently, and Zuko jumped back in surprise before meeting Sokka’s eyes and realizing, no, he wasn’t about to be kidnapped by some mafia dudes in a very suspicious looking SUV. 

“This is your ride?” Zuko asked, raising his eyebrow in surprise. 

Sokka grinned. “Sure is! Hurry up and get in!” He unbuckled his seatbelt and scooted to the middle seat so Zuko could take his spot, and Suki grumbled when Sokka squished her against the window. 

Zuko climbed into the car, carefully shutting the door. The driver took off, and Zuko glanced around the car, trying to see who was going with them on this dim sum adventure. 

“Alright, introduction time,” Sokka declared, clapping his hands together. “Guys, this is Zuko. Zuko, you already know-” 

“Hi Zuko!” Aang said suddenly, clicking off his seatbelt so he could lean over to see Zuko’s face. 

“Oh, hey Aang,” Zuko blinked. He glanced back to Sokka, eye widening when he spotted Suki. “Suki, good to see you too.” 

“Sup Zuko,” Suki said, doing the head nod thing at him in greeting. Zuko gave a small wave back, a look of relief flashing across his face at knowing two of the people here. 

“And for the people you don’t know,” Sokka cut in, continuing his interrupted introduction, “up front is Toph. Her parents own this car and the driver is her chauffeur.” 

“Nice to meetcha!” Toph said, twisting around in her seat so she was facing the backseat. “I’m Toph Beifong.” 

Zuko’s eyes widened at that. “Beifong as in the shipping company?” 

Toph nodded. “Yup, the very same.” 

At this, Zuko’s expression fell slightly. “Oh… so I’d imagine you know a lot about the people your parents do business with?” 

“Not really,” Toph shrugged. “My parents don’t talk to me about work stuff ever. They say it’s not anything I’m ever gonna need to know.” 

Zuko’s shoulders sagged in relief. “Oh, got it,” he muttered, no longer looking at Toph. “I’m Zuko Wong. It’s nice to meet you too.” 

Huh. Sokka wondered what that was all about. 

“Well Zuko, we’ve heard quite a lot about you from Snoozles over here,” Toph said, jerking her thumb towards Sokka. “Like how you and Katara dated the same douche canoe.” 

From behind Sokka, he heard Katara sigh. “Toph, can we not bring up Jet again?” Katara then leaned forward from the back back seat as well so she was settled beside Aang, and waved at Zuko. “Hi Zuko. I’m Katara, Sokka’s sister.” 

“Hey Katara,” Zuko mumbled, looking unsure of what to say to her. Sokka didn’t blame him. What did you say to someone who had dated your ex? 

Katara seemed to sense his discomfort though, because she quickly switched topics. “So Zuko, you’re a tattoo artist, right?” 

“Uh, yeah. I work at the shop next to Sokka’s cafe,” Zuko explained. 

“What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever tattooed on someone?” Katara asked, a playful grin stretching across her face. 

The question caught Zuko off guard. He blinked a few times, clearly not having expected that to be what he was asked of all things. 

“That’s a tough one,” he muttered, bringing a hand up to his chin in thought. “Some guy came in once asking me to tattoo cabbages on him. I think that was pretty weird.” 

Sokka blinked. “Cabbages? Like just cabbages?” 

Zuko nodded. “Yup. It was an older guy too.” 

“Did he just really like cabbages?” Suki questioned. 

“I guess so. I think he said he ran some kind of cabbage company, but I really wasn’t paying that much attention to him because he was mostly talking about different kinds of cabbages,” Zuko explained. 

“Uh… he didn’t say what his name was, did he?” Aang asked, sounding unusually guilty for some reason. 

“I don’t remember. It was a while ago,” Zuko shrugged. 

While Sokka was tempted to ask Aang why he wanted to know Cabbage Guy’s name, the conversation took another turn as Toph then asked everyone what they wanted to eat when they got to the restaurant. 

The rest of the car ride wasn’t very long. Zuko was chatting with Sokka’s friends, and while he still seemed a bit awkward, he didn’t look as scared as he’d been when he first got in the car. Sokka could only hope that things continued that way for the rest of the evening, but the night was still young so he would just have to wait and see. 

Soon, Toph’s car pulled in front of a small dim sum restaurant settled on a busy street corner. There were a few tables outside the restaurant, filled with groups much like their own chatting and away while snacking on a huge spread of food. Toph said goodbye to her driver and the group all hopped out. Katara and Aang both had to awkwardly climb over the seats to get out, but soon the car pulled away, leaving them all on the sidewalk in front of the restaurant. 

Toph expectantly held out her arm, and Suki was the first to take it so she could lead Toph around the restaurant. Small places like this usually had narrow passages between the tables, which wasn’t always the best environment for Toph to use her walking cane in. 

Stepping into the restaurant was a heavenly experience. The air was thick with the scent of different roasting meats and seafoods, while the clanging of spoons against bowls and chopsticks against plates created a melody of chaos that Sokka found he quite enjoyed. Sokka and Zuko both hung at the back of the group as they made their way through the twists and turns of the maze-like layout, with none of the other patrons sparing their party a second glance. 

They had a rather large table in the very back corner of the restaurant. Toph sat with Suki on one side of the table, and Aang on the other. Katara sat across from Aang, Sokka sat next to Katara, and Zuko sat next to him. 

A waiter quickly bustled over, pulling out a small notebook and nodding at the group as he approached. “What kind of tea can I get you all to drink?” He asked. 

There was a quick group debate about what kind of tea to get. Sokka didn’t really care because he liked most tea equally, but he advocated a bit more for jasmine just because he knew it was Zuko’s favorite. Aang was leaning more towards chrysanthemum, while Toph was adamant about getting black tea. 

They ended up compromising with oolong. 

After the waiter left to get their tea brewed, Suki took out the menu and began to read out the options so everyone could chime in with what they wanted. Sokka immediately pounced on getting cha siu bao, while Katara said she had to get some lo bak go. While the rest of the table fell into a heated discussion about whether they wanted to order liu sha bao or just classic egg tarts. Under his breath, Sokka asked Zuko what he wanted since he wasn’t speaking up, and Zuko insisted he was fine. 

It only took a few seconds of prodding though for Sokka to get Zuko to admit that he really liked fung zao, which Sokka had already been planning on ordering, but he decided to order an extra dish of it for them to split. 

Finally, after quite a few minutes of arguing, the group had settled on their order and handed the paper back to the waiter. The tea arrived and Aang poured it for all of them, and while Sokka was usually more partial to black tea himself, he did really enjoy oolong and had no complaints about this choice of drink. 

After Zuko took a sip though, he pursed his lips and stared intently at the tea. 

“How’d they mess up the brewing?” Sokka asked, leaning in so Zuko could hear him over Toph and Aang’s loud discussion about the legality of holding someone out a window. (Toph said that it was a perfectly acceptable way to get information out of someone. Aang didn’t agree). 

“They didn’t mess it up really, but I feel like the leaves weren’t potent enough,” he replied, swirling the drink in his cup. “It’s fine. I just think if they had made the water a bit hotter it could’ve had a richer flavor.” 

“How would you have made it?” Sokka asked, placing a hand on his chin so he could listen better to Zuko talking. 

Zuko glanced up in surprise, before a small smile flickered across his face. “Well, um, the thing about oolong tea is that oxidizing it changes the flavor. Everyone has different preferences, but for me I usually like oolong tea that’s really highly oxidized, usually around 60-70%. So I’d get some spring water because that’s the best for brewing with, and I’d let it heat to about 90 degrees. Then I’d drop the leaves in and wait for about a minute and a half. I’d taste it to test, and then I’d probably add around thirty seconds. I find that this gives a strong flavor, but not too strong that it’s overwhelming. You know what I mean?” 

“Yeah, I know what you mean,” Sokka replied. 

Sokka definitely didn’t know what he meant, because while he liked tea he really didn’t think about it much beyond _ooo leaf water_. But he liked hearing Zuko talk about it, because it was fun to see Zuko speak so passionately about something so small. It was such a contrast from what he had thought Zuko was like—moody, grumpy, hating everything. 

“What’s your favorite type of tea?” Zuko suddenly asked. 

“Oh… I like all tea, but if I had to pick a favorite I’d probably say black tea,” Sokka said, blinking as he straightened up in his seat again. 

“Because it’s got the closest caffeine content to coffee?” Zuko asked with a wry grin. 

“Exactly,” Sokka laughed. “I work at a cafe. I have a caffeine addiction. If I’m not drinking coffee I need something that’s close to it.” 

“Fair point,” Zuko conceded. 

“Do you like any coffee? Or do you only drink tea?” Sokka asked, realizing Ty Lee had just said he preferred tea, but not that he hated coffee entirely. 

Zuko shrugged. “I have coffee on occasion. But only when I really need to stay awake for some reason or another,” he explained. “I like cold brews. Those are nice.” 

“We make a really good vanilla cold brew at the coffee shop,” Sokka said, because he was a shameless self-plugger. “If you ever want to try that instead of jasmine tea, just let me know.” 

“I’ll keep that in mind, but I really like the way you make jasmine tea,” Zuko admitted, ducking his eyes to the table. “Where did you learn to make it like that anyway?” 

Sokka’s eyes widened. He couldn’t tell Zuko his internet friend told him how to, because that would be a dead giveaway about his identity. 

“Um, I just, yknow, looked it up-” 

“Oh look! The food’s here!” 

Thankfully, Katara’s exclamation interrupted Sokka’s stammered response, saving him from burying himself in a rabbit hole of lies. He and Zuko both looked over to where a waiter was approaching with a cart full of steamers, and everyone moved their plates out of the way so the waiter could set all the dishes down. 

Looking around the table, Sokka almost laughed, because everyone’s pupils were blown wide like cats. They were all starving, and these dishes smelled heavenly. Sokka knew he was ready to pounce as soon as the waiter stepped away. 

And that’s exactly what happened. As soon as the waiter disappeared, everyone lunged for their respective dishes, ready to grab their favorites before someone else got them. Yes, dim sum was about sharing, but it was also about the thrill of nearly getting into a fist fight with your sister because she took the last shrimp dumpling. 

The first thing Sokka tore into was the cha siu bao. Fluffy steamed buns filled with tangy bbq pork was the meal of Sokka’s dreams. The buns were warm, the pork mixture inside burning his mouth as he took a bite. He didn’t care. It was too delicious. 

Beside him, Katara had loaded her own plate up with har gow and a piece of lo bak go on the side. The har gow were dumplings stuffed with juicy shrimp and crunchy bamboo shoots, wrapped in a delicate rice flour dumpling skin. They were one of the most popular dim sum dishes in Hong Kong, but Sokka and Katara particularly liked these because any seafood reminded them both of home. The lo bak go was not seafood at all, but instead was a type of turnip cake that usually had some kind of ham mixed inside, and it was Katara’s other favorite dim sum dish. 

On the other side of Sokka, Zuko was digging into fung zao. When Sokka had first come to Hong Kong as a kid, his and Katara’s dad took them out to a dim sum place their first week to get them used to some of the new food. None of them knew what fung zao was, but Dad had always been an adventurous guy when it came to food, so he ordered it when the waiter recommended it. 

When a plate full of chicken feet came out, little Sokka and Katara had almost screamed. Hakoda definitely seemed a bit taken back by the dish, but he wasn’t going to write off a dish as disgusting just because it wasn’t something he’d ever seen before. He also forced Sokka and Katara to try some as well and it turned out to be absolutely delicious. 

Chewy but not overly so, fung zao was usually steamed in a slightly sweet and spicy black bean sauce that perfectly complemented the subtle flavors of the meat itself. It was definitely one of Sokka’s favorite dim sum dishes, so he made sure to pile some on his own plate once Zuko had taken his share. 

Then, at the center of the table, Sokka spotted the piece de resistance. The best thing anyone could hope for from a dim sum restaurant (at least in Sokka’s humble opinion). The most delicious type of dumpling ever created. 

Xiao long bao. Tiny dumpling morsels filled with flavorful pork or juicy crab meat. The best part though? These dumplings were not just filled with pork or crab, but they were also bursting with a delicious broth filling. There was a very specific method to eat them without getting soup squirting everywhere. 

Place the dumpling in the spoon. Use one chopstick to poke a hole in the dumpling, and squeeze the soup out. Drink the soup from the spoon, then enjoy the rest of the dumpling. It was delicious, warm, juicy, and one of the best things Sokka had ever eaten. 

While dim sum had originated in Guangdong, xiao long bao was a dish that had been created in Shanghai. Sokka held the opinion that Southern Chinese dim sum was still superior, but xiao long bao was the one exception because of how amazing it was. 

All in all, Sokka’s plate consisted of one cha siu bao, three xiao long bao, two har gow, two siu mai (more pork dumplings, but different than xiao long bao partly because there was no soup), a few pieces of fung jao, and an egg tart to break up the savoury stuff. 

As he dug into his meal, Sokka kept glancing over to Zuko. In the beginning of the meal, he only had the fung jao on his plate. But after a bit of nudging from Sokka, he added some xiao long bao, an egg tart, and then grabbed a cha siu bao as well. 

“How are you liking the food?” Sokka asked, popping a pork dumpling in his mouth. 

“This place is really good,” Zuko said, taking a bite out of a chicken foot. “Have you gone here before?” 

Sokka nodded. “Yup. This has been our favorite dim sum spot since we were in secondary school,” he said proudly. 

Zuko’s eyes widened. “You guys have all been friends since secondary school?” He asked. 

“Yup! Longer for most of us actually. Katara and I met Aang only a few months after we first moved here, back when I was 11 and Katara was 10. About a year later, we met Toph. For a while it was just the four of us, then in secondary school I met Suki and brought her into our group. We’ve all been best friends ever since.” 

“That’s… wow, you guys must all be really close,” Zuko said, his voice getting quieter. Something sad flickered across his face, only for the briefest of moments, but before Sokka could tell what it meant Zuko had switched back to his poker face as he suddenly focused on something across the table. 

Zuko leaned into Sokka’s side, turning to whisper in his ear. “Uh, dude? I think Aang is flirting with your sister.” 

Following Zuko’s gaze, Sokka’s eyes widened when he saw what Zuko was talking about.  
Sure enough, Aang was leaning across the table, making very blatant heart eyes at Katara as she rambled about some gross medical thing she had learned in school. 

“Yeah, he never really got over his crush on her,” Sokka laughed, settling back in his seat to take another bite of his pork bun. “They used to be a thing, back in secondary school. It was short, and they’ve both dated other people since then. But we all know Aang still likes her.” 

“Oh. Does she not feel the same way?” Zuko asked, glancing between the two. 

A few weeks ago, Sokka would’ve said no way. Katara had gotten over Aang a long time ago, and had no intention of getting back together with him. She had told Sokka this numerous times, and Sokka had no reason to think otherwise. 

But now it was obvious there was more going on between them, yet again. Looking closer, Sokka could see the tips of their fingers just barely brushing in between them on the table. 

“I think she does now,” Sokka whispered back to Zuko. 

Suki, who up until now had been having a conversation with Toph, suddenly chimed into the conversation. 

“What are you two whispering about?” She cut in, smirking at them both. 

Smirking back, Sokka jerked his head towards Katara and Aang. Suki followed his gaze, and let out a small laugh when she noticed what Sokka was talking about. 

“Love is in the air I guess,” she said, leaning back in her seat. “What about you, Zuko? Any romance blossoming for you?” 

At this, Zuko’s cheeks grew bright red and he quickly ducked his eyes back down to his plate. “Um, not really?” 

Suki seemed disappointed. “Really? No one at all?” 

Sokka found himself intently staring at Zuko, also very interested in learning if Zuko had any romantic interests in his life. Blue hadn’t mentioned anyone he was interested in to Sokka, and he doubted that Zuko would keep something like that from Boomerang. 

But… Sokka found himself oddly nervous as he watched Zuko’s face flicker between emotions. 

“I mean… this is gonna sound kinda stupid,” Zuko muttered. Internally, Sokka’s stomach was already dropping to his knees, but he fought to keep a neutral expression on his face while waiting for Zuko to continue. 

“Whoever it is, we’re not gonna judge you, Zuko,” Suki reassured him. 

Nodding, Zuko took a breath before continuing. “Well I have this, uh, internet friend,” he started, and instantly Sokka’s dread dissipated. “We both live in Hong Kong even though we haven’t met up in person yet, and we don’t really have anything going on but we flirt with each other sometimes.” 

Now, Sokka was fighting to keep a grin off his face. Zuko was talking about him. For some reason, that made Sokka feel much better than it should. 

Suki met Sokka’s gaze across the table, and gave him a knowing look, before turning back to Zuko. 

“Do you guys have any plans to meet up?” 

“We did, but last minute he had a family emergency and had to cancel,” Zuko said. “Hopefully we can set up another time though.” 

Again, Suki shot a pointed look at Sokka, and he tried not to shrink under her judgement. 

“That’s a shame. I hope you guys can meet up soon,” she said, her voice just a little too saccharine to be genuine. 

“Suki, how’s your love life going?” Sokka cut in loudly, not wanting to linger on this topic any longer. 

“Eh, same as usual,” Suki shrugged. “Just a series of awkward blind dates and tinder conversations.” 

“Aren’t you gonna ask me how my love life is going, Snoozles?” Toph said, turning her attention away from Aang and Katara to join their conversation. 

Sokka blinked. The last date he remembered Toph going on, she got into a fist fight with a guy when he commented on her date’s dress being too short. That had been over a year ago. 

“Are you back in the dating scene?” Sokka asked, frowning at the small girl. 

“Sure am!” Toph declared proudly. “I met a guy at the gym the other day when I was boxing, and I ended up knocking him out. After he woke up he asked me out to watch a wrestling match. We’re going next week.” 

“How… romantic?” Zuko commented, looking unsure of how to respond to that. 

“Very romantic,” Toph agreed, smirking as she popped another dumpling in her mouth. “I like a guy who knows I can kick his ass.” 

“Well, that is what you’re good at,” Sokka muttered, wincing as he remembered how many times Toph has punched him in the gut over the years. 

“You know it!” Toph declared proudly. “You gotta do what you’re good at. Hence, my career.” 

Zuko raised an eyebrow at this. “Wait, what do you do for a living?” 

Toph’s smirk only grew. “I'm a pro wrestler.” 

“You’re a-” Zuko’s eyes widened. “But, uh, aren’t you-” 

“Blind? Yup, sure am,” Toph answered, cutting him off. “Don’t need to see to kick ass. If I feel someone trying to pin me to the floor, I know how to move to pin them down instead.” 

“Damn, that’s pretty cool,” Zuko commented. “I don’t think I remember hearing that the Beifong’s had a daughter though, let alone one that’s a pro wrestler.” 

At this, Toph’s smile fell and turned into a frown. “Yeah. They weren’t exactly thrilled to have their only child be a girl, let alone a blind girl. Then on top of that, I wanted to be a pro wrestler, which isn’t exactly something ‘proper young ladies’ do I guess. So they don’t talk about me a lot.” 

Because of Zuko’s nervousness, Sokka expected him to immediately apologize for bringing the subject up or awkwardly try to change the subject. But instead, Zuko just pursed his lips and nodded. 

“Yeah, I get that,” he said quietly. 

Toph’s brows furrowed at this. “What did you say your last name was aga-” 

“Are you guys almost done with your food?” Aang cut in, leaning over Toph with a wide grin spread across his face. 

Sokka glanced around the table, noticing that Zuko, Toph, and Suki’s plates were almost completely empty. Sokka was almost done with the second refill of his plate, and knew he still had room for more, but that didn’t seem to be the case for the others. 

“Yeah, I think so,” Suki answered. 

“Great! Because I had an idea,” Aang continued. “How do you guys feel about going to a bar after this?” 

“A bar?” Sokka questioned. “I mean that sounds fun, but I think Katara’s tired.” He thought back to earlier that evening, when Katara had seemed ready to fall asleep just waiting for Toph’s car. 

“I’m fine!” Katara chimed in. Sokka turned to meet Katara’s eyes, noticing how much more vibrant they seemed to be compared to before. There was no sign of the exhaustion Sokka knew she had to be feeling, and while a part of him wanted to make her go home to get rest, Katara was also a grown adult able to take care of herself. If she wanted to go out with the others, Sokka trusted that she knew her limits. 

“I mean I’m down,” Suki shrugged, popping her last dumpling in her mouth. 

“FUCK YES!” Toph yelled. “It’s been ages since we last went out, I need to get in a bar fight again.” 

“Uh, please no,” Aang pleaded. 

Toph began to argue back the semantics of bar fights and how to make money off of them, when Sokka glanced over to Zuko, and noticed he was nervously picking at the remains of his fung zao. He realized that Zuko hadn’t said anything during the entirety of the conversation about going out, and wasn’t sure if he would even want to join them. 

“Hey, are you alright with going out?” Sokka asked, lowering his voice as he leaned in. 

“Huh?” Zuko glanced up with wide eyes. “Um, I mean, am I invited?” 

Sokka blinked at him. That definitely hadn’t been what Sokka was expecting Zuko to say. 

“Um… yes? Of course you are? Why wouldn’t you be?” 

Zuko’s cheeks bloomed dark pink as he ducked his head again. “I mean you guys don’t know me that well, so I just figured you would all only wanna go out drinking with each other-” 

“Of course you’re invited!” Sokka said, slapping a hand on his shoulder. “Dude, we’re gonna have so much fun. Aang knows literally all the coolest places in Hong Kong.” 

“Oh, uh, okay,” Zuko nodded. 

“We’re both in!” Sokka declared, raising his hand proudly. 

“Yes!” Aang and Toph fist pumped at the same time. 

A few minutes later they had paid for their meal (Toph had put it on her credit card before anyone else got a chance to pull their wallets out, saying the others could just venmo her the money back, when in reality Sokka knew she didn’t even have a venmo), and made their way out of the restaurant with full bellies and bright smiles. Aang was chattering away about some new rooftop bar that an old friend of his owned, while Suki and Toph were taking bets on how many shots Aang would get through before he passed out.

The car ride over was relatively casual. The group chatted about what their favorite drinks were (while Zuko insisted he just liked drinking beer best, eventually the group managed to get it out of him that he liked margaritas a lot more than he let on) and about what kind of shots they were going to order when they got there. 

While usually the group wouldn’t be so gung ho about going out to get plastered, given all of them except Toph had jobs or school they needed to get up for in the morning, it was a Friday night. Sokka didn’t have any pressing assignments due, Katara didn’t have any impending exams for once, and no one had work the next day. 

Soon, the car pulled in front of a skyscraper. As they got out of the car, Sokka craned his neck to try and see the top. While it certainly wasn’t the tallest in Hong Kong, the building was obviously designed to be a landmark, the kind of building that people pictured when they imagined the quintessential Hong Kong skyline. Sleek windows and low blue light emanating throughout, the group followed Aang into the lobby where a myriad of people were rushing around with suitcases in hand. 

It was a hotel, with a bar on the roof. They followed Aang to the line for the elevator to the bar, where a bouncer was looking over each person as they walked up. Instead of going to the back of the line though, Aang continued past the elevator towards the back of the hotel lobby. 

“Uh, Aang, are you sure we’re going-” 

“Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing,” Aang said, cutting Sokka off. 

Towards the end of the lobby, there seemed to be a small wine tasting area for the hotel guests. And it was there that Sokka noticed another roped off line for an elevator, this one labeled with a sign that read ‘VIP’. 

Despite the fact that they definitely weren’t VIPs in any respect, Aang walked up to the bouncer there with confidence. This man narrowed his eyes as Aang approached, gaze lingering on his casual dress and dopey grin. 

“This is the VIP line,” the man said, stepping in front of the elevator doors as Aang got close. 

“Yeah, we know,” Aang replied, pulling out his phone. “Just give me a second.” 

He tapped in something on his phone, and then held it up to his ear. The bouncer was frowning at them as the call rang, and Sokka shifted awkwardly from side to side, while Zuko kept his eyes on the floor. Sokka had no idea what Aang was doing, but he knew that kid always seemed to have random connections around the city, and since his friend was the owner of the bar, he figured it would make sense that he could get them into the VIP line. Still, Sokka really didn’t like the way the bouncer was glaring at their group. 

“Hey Bumi!” Aang chirped into the phone after a few beats of silence. “Yeah, my friends and I are actually in the lobby right now. Can you tell your bouncer to let us up?” He was silent for a few more moments, before laughing. “Alright alright, yeah I’ll hand the phone to him right now.” 

Aang then showed his phone to the bouncer. “It’s for you.” 

The bouncer scowled but took the phone anyway, and held it up to his ear. “Uh, hello?” He was silent for a moment, his eyes slowly widening as he stared at Aang. “Um, Mr. Bumi, are you sure this is the right… well yes, he is a kid with arrow tattoos but… yeah… yeah alright, sorry sir. I’ll send them up right now.” 

The call ended and the bouncer handed the phone back to Aang. He glared at the group for another moment before sighing and stepping to the sign, pressing the button so the elevator doors opened. 

Aang flashed a grin back to the group as they all pressed into the elevator, and Sokka had to struggle not to laugh at how pissed off the bouncer seemed to look at having to let them in as VIPs. 

As soon as the elevator doors closed, Katara whirled towards Aang. 

“How did you do that?” She asked. 

“Like I told you guys, my friend owns this bar! He said we could be VIPs if we ever visited.” 

“I swear to god, you know literally everyone in this city,” Suki muttered, shaking her head even though she was smiling. 

A ding told them the elevator had reached the top, and the doors slid open with a cold rush of wind. Aang bounced out of the elevator, the others following close behind as they made their way into the VIP section. 

Saying the bar was nice was an understatement. The place was all sleek modern furniture, attractive young socialites holding colorful drinks, and glowing LED lights. Looking out at the edge of the roof, you could see a huge stretch of the Hong Kong skyline. The lights of the city twinkled like fallen stars, and Sokka realized this had to be a _very_ expensive bar. 

Suddenly, a scratchy voice rang out. 

“Aang? Is that you?!” 

Whipping his head towards the source of the noise, Sokka realized there was an old man sitting on a green velvet couch in a roped off section for VIPs who was now making his way towards Aang. This guy looked like the definition of a mad scientist. Spiky white hair sticking out from the sides of his head, bulging dark eyes with one wider than the other, a few missing teeth in his broad grin. If Sokka had to guess, he’d say this guy was in his late 80’s at _least_. 

“Bumi!” Aang threw his arms out to the side and wrapped the elderly man in a hug. “It’s so good to see you!” 

“So good to see you as well, old friend,” Bumi said, slapping Aang’s back as they both stepped away from the hug. “So tell me, how do you like my new place? Pretty spiffy, right?!” He gestured to the bar around them, his proud smile only growing wider. 

“This place is amazing,” Aang told him. “Thank you so much for getting us in here as VIPs by the way.” 

“Oh it’s no problem, it gets a little lonely here in the VIP section since no one likes talking to old farts like myself,” Bumi chuckled. Then he turned to look at the rest of the group. “Now, tell me who’s who.” 

“Well, first off, guys, this is my friend Bumi,” Aang explained, gesturing to Bumi. “Bumi, these are my friends, Katara, Sokka, Suki, Toph, and Zuko,” he continued, pointing to each member of the group as he said their name. 

Bumi gave them all once-over’s, nodding in approval at each of them until he got to Toph. When his eyes landed on her small frame, his grin grew even more manic as his eyes widened. 

“I know you! You’re the Blind Bandit!” Bumi exclaimed. 

“Damn right I am!” Toph said, beaming. 

“You know, I always love seeing fresh faces in the wrestling scene, but you’ve really blown me away with your talent, kiddo. I mean, seeing you fight The Boulder was one of the most entertaining fights I’ve witnessed in a long time. And that’s saying something since I’m old as dirt!” Bumi chuckled at his own joke, before continuing. “I don’t know how much you know about wrestling, but I used to be in the scene myself.” 

“Oh really?” Toph raised an eyebrow. “What was your name?” 

“I went by The King of Omashu,” Bumi told her, a strange glint in his bulging eyes. 

At this, Toph’s jaw dropped open. 

“HOLY FUCK! YOU’RE THE KING OF OMASHU?!” Toph exclaimed. “You were literally one of my favorite wrestlers to watch growing up!” Then Toph whirled around to Aang, and punched him in the arm. “How come you never told me you were friends with The King of Omashu?!” 

“I dunno! It just never came up!” Aang said, rubbing his arm with a wince. 

“Well your Bumi privileges have been revoked. He’s mine now,” Toph said, looping her arm around his. “Show me where the bar is, Omashu. I wanna ask you about some of your fights.” 

“Sounds good to me!” Bumi agreed. “By the way, don’t worry about your drinks tonight. It’s all on the house!” 

“Bumi, you don’t have to do that-” 

“Aang, I am old and I am absolutely loaded. I own this entire hotel. Trust me, a few little shits like yourselves aren’t gonna put a dent in my income because you drank for free,” Bumi reassured Aang. “Now, Blind Bandit, let’s go to the bar!” Toph cheered as Bumi led her to the bar, and after the rest of the group shared some confused glances, they decided to follow them as well. 

For the most part, Sokka and Zuko hung back away from the rest of the group as the drinks were ordered. Bumi put in an order for a round of ‘slippery nipple’s’ (which, yes, is a type of shot) and then Aang passed the drinks around to the group. While usually Sokka was fine with ordering some shots straight up, especially at places like this that used higher quality tequila or vodka, Aang was a baby when it came to alcohol. Despite the fact that a slippery nipple shot was pretty sweet, Sokka knew Aang would still cough after taking it, because Aang could barely drink a mimosa without making some kind of face. 

The group gathered in a circle, their shots all in hand. Sokka and Zuko stood next to each other, and Sokka realized Zuko was smiling as he held his shot in the air to cheers with. 

“To a night of friendship!” Aang declared. 

“Y’know Aang, you don’t have to give a cheesy toast every time we drink, right?” Toph deadpanned from beside him. 

“But I like doing it,” Aang pouted. 

“Oh let him be, Toph. It helps distract him from the fact that he’s gotta take a shot,” Suki said. Then, she tilted her own head back to take her shot, and the rest of the group followed. 

As predicted, Aang came up hacking despite the fact that the shot went down super smoothly. When Sokka slammed his shot glass down on the bar, Zuko did as well, and the two made eye contact as the group began to disperse around them. 

“Be real with me, is one shot enough for you to feel anything?” Sokka asked, watching as Aang and Katara immediately beelined for their own private couch, while Toph was still chattering away to Bumi with Suki leaning on the bar beside them. 

Zuko snorted and shook his head. “No. Not at all.” 

“Thank god, me neither,” Sokka said, turning back to the bar. “Hey, can I get two tequila shots?” 

The bartender gave them a thumbs up, and Sokka smirked at Zuko as two shots slid over to them. 

“You gonna give a cheesy toast like Aang?” Zuko teased, picking up his shot glass. 

“Yes, in fact I am,” Sokka said, raising his glass up. “To all the amazing dumplings and buns that are stuffed inside my belly, you are the real heroes of the night.” 

“You know, I’ll drink to that,” Zuko said, tipping his glass in a small toast before downing the shot. Sokka followed suit, only wincing slightly at the burn of the liquor in his throat. 

After setting the glass down, Sokka quickly shouted out to the bartender to get them two beers as well. Then, he grabbed Zuko’s shoulder and both their bottles, and steered him towards an open couch nearby. He ignored the knowing look Suki gave him, sticking his tongue out at her as he walked by. She just laughed and turned back to talking with Toph and Bumi. 

Sokka sat down on the couch, leaning against the arm of the chair while Zuko settled in beside him. Only after sitting down did Sokka realize that they probably should’ve grabbed water to sip while they chatted along with the beer, but the shots were already starting to make him feel heavy so he didn’t really feel like getting up again. 

“So how’s your project going?” 

The question startled Sokka out of his thoughts over how much he was craving a La Croix, and he glanced over to Zuko, who was watching him curiously. 

“Huh?” 

“The project? That you told me about earlier this week?” Zuko questioned, looking like he was trying not to giggle. 

_Oh._

“Oh shit! Yeah! It’s actually looking up, surprisingly. I do have to change a lot, but I don’t have to start over completely which I’m really relieved about,” Sokka explained. 

“That’s great,” Zuko said. “I’m really glad things worked out like that.” 

Zuko meant that, and Sokka could tell. Somehow, his plan was really working. He was really becoming friends with Zuko. The thought warmed him inside. 

Or maybe it was just the tequila doing that. 

“I really appreciate you helping me the other night though. I was really freaking out over things,” Sokka said, remembering how he almost had a panic attack at the grocery store. 

Zuko shrugged, looking at his lap. “It wasn’t a problem. I enjoyed hanging out with you.” 

Heat rose to Sokka’s cheeks, and he chose to believe it was just the tequila doing that. 

“Oh, um, me too,” Sokka replied, looking away and towards the bar. 

An awkward silence fell over the two after that, neither one sure what to switch the topic to to continue talking. Sokka tapped the table in front of the couch, while Zuko messed with his phone in his lap. Sokka wondered where Suki was, and if he could drag her over here to help save them from this. 

Then, Zuko spoke up again. 

“So, uh, we were talking about relationships earlier,” he started, making Sokka whip his head towards him. 

“Um, yeah? What about relationships?” Sokka asked, trying not to act nervous as he thought back to Zuko talking about him without realizing he was talking about him. 

“I was just wondering if you had anyone you were, uh, seeing,” Zuko shrugged, continuing to mess with his phone in his lap. 

Oh. Okay, so no comments involving Boomerang or Blue Spirit, thank god. 

“Nope, not right now,” Sokka admitted, relaxing back into the couch. “I haven’t actually dated anyone seriously since my first year of college.” 

“Oh? What happened with that?” Zuko asked, raising an eyebrow. 

Sokka snorted. “Suki tries to wingman for me now, that’s how it turned out,” he said, gesturing to where Suki was having an arm wrestling competition with Bumi by the bar. 

At this, Zuko’s eyes widened. “You and Suki used to date?” He asked. There was something off about the way he asked it, but Sokka couldn’t pin what it was. 

“Yeah, we did! It was pretty great for the most part, Suki is really amazing, but eventually we just agreed we’d prefer to be friends,” Sokka explained, grinning in Suki’s direction. “Since then though I have been on a few tinder dates, but they never really panned out.” 

Zuko snorted. “Any weird ones?” 

“Oh yeah, for sure,” Sokka laughed. “One time I was on a date with this American dude, and things were fine up until I ordered a hamburger for my entree at the restaurant we were at. Then he gave me a ton of shit for not being a vegan and I have no idea what in my bio made him think I was a vegan but yeah long story short that didn’t pan out.” 

“Um, okay that’s pretty weird but also did you, uh, say you were on a date with a guy?” Zuko asked, suddenly keeping his voice very low. 

Sokka frowned. Zuko was literally gay. Why would he have a problem with that? 

“Uh, yeah? I’m bi?” 

Zuko blinked, before his eyes widened and a red flush spread across his cheeks. “Oh, um, I didn’t know that. Sorry, I didn’t mean it like anything weird. I was just confused for a second.” 

Oh. Sokka had never really tired to hide the fact that he was bi, at least not while he was at work. He was pretty sure he had loudly complained to Ty Lee about some of his bad dates with guys within hearing distance of Zuko, so he had always just assumed Zuko knew. 

“It’s no problem. I just figured everyone knew,” Sokka shrugged. “Suki actually helped me figure it out, not long after we broke up,” he added, snorting at the memory of coaching him through his first bi panic. 

This made Zuko snort softly. “That’s funny. I kinda had a similar experience.” 

“Wait, really?” Sokka asked. 

Zuko nodded. “Yeah. I dated Mai back in secondary school before either of us realized we were gay. We kinda figured it out together.” 

At this, Sokka’s eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets. “You dated _Mai?_ As in, scary goth knife girl Mai?!” 

“Yup, sure did. She’s still one of my closest friends to this day,” Zuko said with a grin. 

“Holy shit, I can’t believe you two bearded for each other before you even knew…” Sokka muttered, staring at his lap. Suddenly, a realization hit him. “Wait, are Mai and Ty Lee dating?” 

Zuko let out a startled laugh. “Did you seriously not know?” He asked. 

“Um, no?” Zuko laughed more, and Sokka frowned. “How was I supposed to know?! For one, I just kinda assumed Mai and Ty Lee were both straight because I knew literally nothing about them, and two I only come over to your shop for like five minutes a day.” 

“Sorry, it’s just-” Zuko paused to chuckle some more as his laughter died down, “they’re not exactly subtle.” 

Frowning, Sokka thought back to the times he’d visited the shop to bring Ty Lee her coffee. Most often, Mai was in the far corner where her piercing chair was, but on occasion he had seen her sitting by Ty Lee. They would often chat, heads close as they whispered about something Sokka couldn’t hear. He’d also seen them holding hands a few times before, or hugging a lot, and there was that one time Ty Lee was sitting in Mai’s lap, but girls did that with their friends, right? 

Sokka didn’t even have to voice his thoughts to know that Suki would probably smack him upside the head for galpalling them. 

“Don’t worry, I knew Mai had a crush on another girl while we were dating but it took me ages to figure out it was Ty Lee,” Zuko reassured him. “Which was pretty stupid considering she would always talk about Ty Lee to me. Like, every day.” 

Sokka laughed at this, the alcohol probably making the situation funnier than it was. He then looked across from where their couch was situated, and realized that he had missed who had won the arm wrestling competition. Usually he’d place his bets on Suki, but since they had first walked in, Bumi had taken off his jacket and revealed that despite definitely being a senior citizen, he was _jacked_. 

“Dude, why the fuck is Bumi buff as hell?” Sokka asked, gesturing to the elderly man. 

Frowning, Zuko followed Sokka’s gaze, before his eyes widened. 

“What the hell…” he muttered, staring in shock at the man. “How old do you even think he is?” 

“Honestly, I feel like he could be anywhere between 65 and 105 and we’d have no way of telling,” Sokka said. “Either way, I hope I look like that whenever I’m his age.” 

“Well then you better start working out,” Zuko teased, punching Sokka’s arm. 

Sokka gasped in mock offense. “Excuse you, I work out all the time!” Sokka said, holding his arm up and flexing his bicep even though he definitely didn’t work out that much. 

“Are these noodle arms supposed to impress me?” Zuko deadpanned, poking Sokka’s bicep. 

“Oh, like yours are any better!” Sokka shot back, slapping Zuko’s hand away to point at his own arms. “I bet the only workout you get is picking up the tattoo gun.” 

“I’ll have you know there is a very specific technique to holding a tattoo gun, and doing it every day can really develop muscles you didn’t even realize you had,” Zuko said, looking like he was struggling to keep a straight face as he recited these ‘facts’. “My finger muscles are more sculpted than yours will ever be.” 

The dirty joke slipped out of Sokka’s mouth before he could even think about it. 

“You’re talented with your hands. I’ll make sure to write that down somewhere so I don’t forget,” he said, winking at Zuko as he tried very hard to not look at his hands now. 

At this, a flush spread across Zuko’s cheeks, and his eyes widened. Great. Now Sokka had made him uncomfortable. Damn alcohol. 

Before Sokka could blurt out an apology though, Zuko’s eyes narrowed and his lips twisted into a smirk. 

“Maybe I am,” he retorted, delicately picking up his beer bottle between his fingers before very pointedly taking several long gulps out of it. Of course, Sokka’s eyes were drawn to his adam’s apple as he drank, but he didn’t even realize he’d been staring until Zuko put the beer back down. 

Not wanting Zuko to notice he’d been basically gaping at him while he drank, Sokka quickly picked up his own bottle and took a few long swigs of it. Then, he sat it back down and playfully nudged Zuko’s shoulder. 

“Guess I’ll just have to find out,” he teased. 

The flush on Zuko’s cheeks darkened, but he nudged Sokka back. “If you can woo me that is.” 

Sokka wanted to say some other witty retort about how he was great at wooing people, but he and Zuko ended up locking eyes for a few seconds, and next thing he knew they were both dissolving into laughter. 

The rest of the evening went by rather smoothly. Eventually, everyone regrouped around the bar for another round of shots. Then, Katara dragged Sokka and Zuko over to their table, where Toph, Suki, and Bumi soon joined them as well. With most of the group really feeling the effects of alcohol now (except Bumi, Sokka really couldn’t tell if that guy was drunk or just Like That), conversation flowed easily. Zuko became more talkative, laughing and joking with the others like he had known them for ages. It made Sokka happy to see, and he was more thrilled than ever that Zuko had accepted the invitation to come out this night. 

Under the table, the two of them kept knocking their knees together, or playfully poking each other in the sides. It could’ve just been the alcohol making Sokka more flirty than usual, but Zuko was responding to it just as much as he was. By the end of the night, Sokka’s face was bright red, and it wasn’t just from how much he’d drank. 

The group decided to leave when Aang passed out because two shots was his limit. Bumi ended up insisting on carrying Aang to the car, and it was very weird to see this tiny old man carry Aang like he was nothing more than a bag of feathers. Then, it was a group effort to throw Aang into the back, and he regained a little bit of consciousness enough to where he was able to settle in comfortably next to Katara. 

The drive home was relaxing. Sokka stared out the window, watching the glow of the orange streetlights dance across his blurred vision like shooting stars. His body was warm, his head felt like the inside of a lava lamp, and Zuko’s thigh was pressed against his own on the seat. 

It was a good combination of sensations, all things considered. 

Aang was dropped off first, with the whole group working together to get him up to his apartment. (Of course while they were there they made sure to take his dog, Appa, out. He also received plenty of kisses). 

Then, Suki was dropped off next, which was thankfully a much easier affair given she was fully conscious and had three roommates waiting for her inside. 

Next, it was Zuko’s turn. 

When they pulled up in front of his building, Sokka climbed out of the car with him. He walked him to the front entrance, before shoving his hands in his pockets as he struggled to figure out what to say. 

“I… had a really good time tonight,” Zuko admitted, seeming to have sobered up a bit during the car ride. 

“Me too,” Sokka agreed. “Thanks for coming out. I’m glad you got to meet my friends.” 

“I am too,” Zuko said, smiling at the ground. “They’re all really cool. And I really enjoyed getting to hang out with you more.” 

Sokka’s heart skipped a beat in his chest. Obviously they had been flirting a bit back at the bar, but that was while they were drunk. Now that he was more sober though… he realized the butterflies in his stomach weren’t just because of the tequila. 

“I did too,” Sokka agreed. “So… I’ll text you tomorrow or something?” 

“Sounds good to me,” Zuko said. 

And with that, Zuko turned and opened the door to his apartment building, giving Sokka one last wave before the doors shut behind him. 

Sokka couldn’t hide the dreamy grin on his face as he made his way back to the car. He settled back down in his seat, shutting the door behind him, and leaned his head against the window as they pulled away from the building. 

“Someone’s got a crushhhhh,” Toph sang from the front seat. 

“I do not!” Sokka whisper-shouted at Toph, glancing over at Katara who had fallen asleep in the backseat. Toph just laughed softly in response. 

It was only a few more minutes to his and Katara’s building. He hated having to wake Katara up, but there was no way he could get her out of the back back seat without her helping at least a bit. 

He said both their goodbyes to Toph, and Katara wrapped her arms around him and kept her eyes shut as he led them back to their apartment. 

Sokka helped his sister get settled in her bed so she could properly pass out, and turned on the fan she used for white noise before gently shutting the door behind him. Now alone, Sokka went about his usual routine when he came back to his apartment drunk and tired. 

He would take his hair out of ponytail and brush it through. Afterwards, it was time to blankly stare into the mirror while washing his face with warm water, followed by even more blank staring while brushing his teeth. Then, he took off all his clothes except his boxers. Next, he had to chug a giant bottle of water and pop an ibuprofen to stave off a hangover for his morning self. Then, he would get settled into bed and scroll through his phone until he fell asleep. 

When Sokka eventually was in his bed with his phone, he was surprised to see he had a text notification. 

**thebluespirit** : Guess what

Oh, Zuko was still awake. 

**boomeranguy15** : what??

 **thebluespirit** : I actually ended up having a really good time tonight

 **boomeranguy15** : AYYY THAT’S GREAT!!

 **boomeranguy15** : told you you would buddy

 **thebluespirit** : ya thank you for the advice you gave me

 **thebluespirit** : definitely helped

 **boomeranguy15** : glad to be a service 

**thebluespirit** : also apparently one of his friends is a pro wrestler???

Ah yes, he still hadn’t gotten over Toph. 

Also, Sokka noticed that Zuko was texting in mostly lowercase, which was something he’d never seen him do before. He had a feeling it must’ve been because he was still drunk. 

**boomeranguy15** : oh shit rlly

 **boomeranguy15** : that’s funny

 **thebluespirit** : YEAH

 **thebluespirit** : she’s like so small

 **thebluespirit** : but she still scares me

 **thebluespirit** : like a lot

 **thebluespirit** : but not in a bad way

 **thebluespirit** : but like in a I don’t want to piss her off kind of way

 **thebluespirit** : though most of the girls he’s friends with are like that

 **thebluespirit** : like his ex girlfriend could probably kill me with one punch

 **thebluespirit** : I saw her arm wrestle a buff elderly man tonight and she won

Okay, wow, Zuko/Blue _never_ rambled this much in his texts. It was kind of hilarious to watch. 

**boomeranguy15** : lkdsfjkld don’t piss off his ex then ig

 **thebluespirit** : Oh I definitely won’t

 **thebluespirit** : also sorry if I’m rambling

 **thebluespirit** : I’m not sober rn

 **boomeranguy15** : dudeeee dw I’m drunk it’s chili

 **boomeranguy15** : I also went out with some friends tonight

 **thebluespirit** : oh no shit?? Nice

 **thebluespirit** : hope you had a good time

 **boomeranguy15** : I had a really good time tanks

 **thebluespirit** : tanks

 **boomeranguy15** : oh shftu

 **boomeranguy15** : sftu

 **boomeranguy15** : suft

 **boomeranguy15** : FUCK

 **thebluespirit** : yeah I definitely don’t need to be the one apologizing for my typing tonight

 **boomeranguy15** : fcku off

 **thebluespirit** : that looks like a keyboard smash

 **boomeranguy15** : you can’t see it rn but Im flipping you off

 **thebluespirit** : Wow you’re so mean to me

 **thebluespirit** : is this cyberbullying

 **boomeranguy15** : u started it

 **thebluespirit** : no u

 **boomeranguy15** : ugh bintch

 **thebluespirit** : bintch

 **boomeranguy15** : FUCK OFFFFFFF

 **thebluespirit** : ;)

 **thebluespirit** : Ill actually fuck off now because I’m about to pass out

 **boomeranguy15** : dude sameeee

 **boomeranguy15** : fallin alsepe

 **boomeranguy15** : syes havaye

 **thebluespirit** : are you typing with your eyes closed?

 **boomeranguy15** : mbye

 **thebluespirit** : well then you should sleep

 **thebluespirit** : goodnight

 **boomeranguy15** : gnight <3

 **thebluespirit** : <3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> can yall tell I was really craving dim sum when I wrote this
> 
> I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! this one was a lot of fun to write, especially the later part involving the bar and getting to include Bumi lol
> 
> let me know what you guys thought! your comments give me so much life <3
> 
> hmu on tumblr @thatsnotrelevant


	5. a gala

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Zuko has to attend a family function, he asks Sokka to come along with

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Once again I'm so sorry for the delay in posting this, I had to finish a final project for one of my classes yesterday and posting this slipped my mind
> 
> Thank you all so much though for all the love you're giving me on this fic! I'm so happy to hear so many of you are enjoying it!

“Whoa! This one is so cool!” 

“You said that about the last three I showed you.” 

“Doesn’t mean it’s not true! Everything you draw is cool!” 

It was early afternoon. The streets of Hong Kong were bustling with people as they went on their lunch breaks, searching for a quick bite to eat before their short time off was up. Through the windows of the tattoo parlor, Sokka could see a few people ducking into his coffee shop next door, and was secretly grateful his shift had ended right before the lunch rush. 

Instead of going directly home after his shift ended, Sokka had decided to eat his lunch at the tattoo shop next door to catch up with Zuko. It had been about a week and a half since their dim sum outing, and Sokka had found himself coming over nearly every day after work to chat with Zuko and see what he was up to (when he wasn’t working on a client of course). 

When Sokka had come in today, he had noticed Zuko sketching in his notebook like he normally was. In the past, Zuko had always shut his notebook quickly when Sokka had come by. However, to Sokka’s surprise, today he had offered to show Sokka some of the recent designs he’d been working on. 

The one the page was currently flipped to was probably Sokka’s favorite so far. It was a large ocean wave crashing onto some rocks, almost reminiscent of that famous Japanese painting (The Great Wave or something?). But there was something about the way Zuko had drawn the water that caught Sokka’s attention. He wasn’t sure exactly how to describe it, but the water almost reminded him of… flames? The way each droplet of water was shaped lent itself to something as powerful as a raging fire, but it was still clearly meant to be water. 

Either way, it was cool as hell. 

“Not everything I draw is cool,” Zuko grumbled, shaking his head as he flipped to the next page in his sketchbook. Even though he was hiding his face with his hair, Sokka could still make out the small smile on his face. 

“Okay, so what’s this next one?” Sokka asked, leaning over Zuko’s shoulder to catch a glimpse at the page. 

“Well I was trying to draw a lily when-” 

The bell above the door chimed, cutting Zuko off and alerting them to a possible customer entering. Sokka glanced up and saw a woman making her way inside, gently shutting the door behind her. 

The first thing Sokka noticed about the woman was that she didn’t look like the type of person to come get a tattoo or piercing. She was dressed like she was going to a business meeting with freshly-pressed black trousers, a black blazer, and a red silk button up tucked in. Her hair was pulled up in a tight bun on top of her head, and expensive-looking gold earrings dangled from her ears. 

Her eyes narrowed as she looked around the shop. Lips that were painted bright red pursed together, and Sokka could feel the judgement practically radiating off of her. 

Beside him, Zuko stiffened. Across from them, Sokka also noticed Ty Lee sit up a bit straighter, her eyes widening as she stared at the woman. 

“Uh, hey Azula,” Ty Lee greeted, though there was something off in her voice. 

Mai—who had been texting on her phone in the corner—immediately got up to stand beside Ty Lee. Sokka noticed she was almost glaring at Azula as she rested a hand on Ty Lee’s shoulder. 

Whoever this ‘Azula’ was, she didn’t seem to be on good terms with the people in here. 

“Ty Lee, Mai, it’s good to see you both,” Azula nodded at both of them, a polite smile covering up the judgement Sokka had seen there earlier. Then, her head whipped towards Zuko, and the smile disappeared. “Zuko, it’s been a while.” 

“What are you doing here, Azula?” Zuko asked, sounding strained. 

“What? I can’t visit my own brother at his job?” Azula asked, blinking innocently. 

_Oh._ This was the sister that Zuko had mentioned to Sokka before. The one that their father had promised the family business to instead of Zuko. 

“You only come here when you want something from me,” Zuko said, closing his sketchbook and folding his arms over his chest. 

Azula snorted and walked over to where Zuko and Sokka were sitting, settling herself on the edge of the tattoo chair in front of them. 

“I hope I’m not interrupting an appointment?” Azula asked, glancing at Sokka. 

“No, I’m just a friend of Zuko’s,” Sokka answered quickly. Should he leave? This seemed like something Zuko might want privacy for, so Sokka started to push to his feet. “I should probably be heading out anyway-” 

“Oh, don’t leave on my account. I’ll only be here for a few minutes,” Azula said, cutting him off. 

Sokka glanced to Zuko, eyes wide with a silent question. Zuko was looking like a deer in headlights as he stared at Azula. When he caught Sokka’s gaze, he nodded, lips pressed together, and Sokka understood that he _needed_ him to stay for this. 

Sokka sat back down, and he noticed Zuko’s shoulders sag in relief. 

“So what do you want?” Zuko asked, eyes narrowing at his sister. 

“There’s going to be a gala for the company. Many of our top investors and associates are going to be there, and Father needs you to attend,” Azula said, folding her arms over her chest. 

Zuko scoffed. “I thought I was an ‘embarrassment’ to the family name. Why would Father want me anywhere near the company?” 

Azula shrugged. “We’re trying a new marketing strategy based around being a family-owned business. Except that strategy doesn’t hold as much weight when one of the CEO’s kids is never around.” 

“Yeah, and for good reason. I don’t want anything to do with Caldera. I thought I made that clear.” 

“Trust me, you did,” Azula said, eyes lingering on the tattoos wrapping around his arms before looking back at his face. “But Father thinks it would reflect poorly on us for you not to attend this event, as this is going to be the biggest thing we hold this year.” 

“Well you can go report back to him that I don’t care about your new marketing strategy and that I’m not going to go,” Zuko replied. 

“Zuko, please, you’re being selfish,” Azula hissed, scowling at Zuko. 

“ _I’m_ being selfish? I haven’t seen Father in years! Did you even think about how hard it would be for me to go to that gala and pretend that we’re one big happy family?” Zuko challenged, raising his voice. 

“Of course I have!” Azula shot back. “You think I didn’t try to talk him out of it? I came up with every excuse in the goddamn book for you, because I knew it wasn’t fair to you. But he refused to listen, and he demanded I make you attend. I wouldn’t be here if I had a choice in the matter.” 

There was a heavy silence that followed Azula’s outburst. Zuko stared at his sister with blatant shock written across his face, while Azula was very obviously trying not to meet his eyes. 

“Look… if I can’t get you to come, he won’t be happy with me,” Azula then said, her voice softening. She gave Zuko a look, and Sokka could tell it meant something. She was saying something about their father only the two of them would understand. 

And suddenly, it was as if a switch flipped, and all the anger drained out of Zuko. His head dropped, and he ran his hands through his hair, hunching over in his seat. 

“I just… I don’t know if I can face him again, Azula,” Zuko admitted. 

“You won’t have to,” Azula said quickly, straightening up. “He doesn’t actually want to talk to you. He just wants you there to show the investors that you haven’t been disowned. Trust me, I can make sure he stays far away from you the whole night.” 

Zuko looked up to meet her eyes. “Really?” 

“Yes, it won’t be difficult. He’ll be so busy talking to the investors most of the time anyway, trying to make new deals or show me off like he always does.” Azula then paused, silently debating something in her head. Her brows furrowed. “Look, if you do this, I can make sure you don’t get bothered with anything relating to Caldera for the rest of the year.” 

“You can do that?” Zuko asked. 

“I can, but only if you do this for me,” Azula confirmed. 

Zuko wrung his hands in his lap, considering it. He glanced between his lap and Azula’s face, and then looked at Sokka. Suddenly, his eyes widened. 

“Can I bring someone with?” He asked. 

“Of course you can. You know these events always allow you to bring a date,” Azula shrugged. “All we need from you is to be there and maybe chat with one or two business associates about how you’re content with the direction the company is taking.” 

“It’s fine even if the date is a guy?” Zuko asked, raising an eyebrow at Azula. 

Azula pursed her lips. “Father won’t be happy if that’s what you decide to do, but he won’t bother to confront you about it. He ‘gave up on convincing you out of that lifestyle’ a while ago. His words, not mine.” 

Sokka had learned more about Zuko’s family situation from this one conversation than he had learned in most of their friendship. 

“You’ve changed, Azula,” Zuko commented after a moment. 

Scoffing, Azula rolled her eyes and pushed to her feet. There was a brief moment where she glanced at Ty Lee—who was walking to the back room with Mai—and sighed, but it was so fast Sokka almost wondered if he imagined it. 

“I’ve just realized some things aren’t worth arguing about,” Azula huffed, resuming her haughty air. “Anyway, I need to get going. I have a conference soon. I’ll text you the details for the gala though.” 

She readjusted the purse on her shoulder and turned for the door. Before she reached it though, she paused, and glanced back. “Thank you, Zuko.” 

Without waiting for a response, the door jingled again as she headed out, disappearing into the crowd of people outside. 

“Are you okay?” Sokka asked immediately. “That seemed… intense.” 

Zuko shrugged. “I’m alright I guess. I didn’t really expect to see Azula today, let alone to have her tell me I need to come to an event for my father’s company.” 

“Yeah, from what you told me about your relationship with your father and his business I wouldn’t have expected it either,” Sokka replied. 

“That’s one way to put it,” Zuko snorted. He fell silent for a moment, staring at his hands as his brows furrowed. “Um, you can totally say no to this, but can I ask you a favor?” 

“Sure, what is it?” 

Sighing, Zuko looked up to meet Sokka’s eyes. “Will you come with me to this gala thing?” 

“Of course I will!” Sokka exclaimed. 

“Wait, really?” Zuko asked, blinking at him. 

“Yeah, for sure. It sounds like this thing is going to be dead boring so I’m sure you’ll need my amazing commentary to keep you from jumping out a window,” Sokka joked, leaning back in his seat. “But seriously, I don’t mind going at all. If anything it seems like it’ll be an interesting experience, getting to schmooze with a bunch of rich people and all.” 

“These things are absolutely boring. Everyone just wants to talk about pointless business stuff while pretending to like each other,” Zuko grumbled. “But there’s free champagne and food, so that’s always a plus.” 

“Free food? I’m definitely in now,” Sokka said, grinning at Zuko. 

Zuko gave him a small smile in return. “Hopefully you won’t hate me too much for dragging you to this thing afterwards.” 

Sokka’s smile fell at that, even though Zuko meant it in a joking way. Straightening up, Sokka shifted so he was closer to Zuko. 

“You’re not dragging me to this. I want to go. This sounds like it’s not going to be easy for you, and I wanna be there to help you out any way I can,” Sokka said, lowering his voice. 

Zuko paused, clearly startled by Sokka’s sincerity. He blinked, opening his mouth as if to respond, before turning his head away. 

“Thank you, Sokka,” he said quietly. 

“Of course. What are friends for?”

It turned out the gala was set for that Saturday evening. According to Zuko, it was a very formal black tie event, meaning Sokka had to break out a suit he’d worn to some family friend’s wedding back in high school. 

Apparently a driver had been scheduled to pick Sokka and Zuko up. The plan was for Sokka to go to Zuko’s place about half an hour before they were supposed to leave, so Zuko could finish getting ready while giving Sokka the rundown on what he needed to know about Zuko’s family before going to this event. 

The suit wasn’t perfect, but it worked for Sokka’s purposes. The jacket and pants were a dark navy blue, and he was wearing it with a slightly brighter blue button up shirt underneath. He had opted not to wear a tie, solely because even though he could tie countless fisherman’s knots with rope, he absolutely sucked at tying an actual tie knot. While a part of him was worried this made him look too casual, he figured worst case scenario Zuko would have an extra tie at his place for Sokka to borrow. 

Katara has insisted Sokka use some kind of weird smoothing oil on his hair when tying it back into his ponytail, and while it felt weird on his hands he had to admit that it smelled very nice—like vanilla. Then, Sokka also dabbed on some concealer he borrowed from Katara’s makeup drawer under his eyes to hide the evidence of his Netflix binge watching from the night before. Along with this, he had more earrings in his ears than he’d had in a while, with a set of three small silver hoops sitting on the lobes of each of his ears. 

Overall, he had to say he looked pretty good. While it might not be fancy enough for all the rich business people he was about to meet, it was good enough by his standards, so that would have to do. 

“Katara, I’m heading out!” Sokka called after he checked the time. The walk over to Zuko’s place didn’t take long, but he didn’t want to rush and make himself all sweaty. 

“Wait! Let me see you before you go!” Katara yelled from her room. Sighing, Sokka folded his arms over his chest and waited as he heard Katara jump to her feet. She sprinted out of her room holding one hand away from her body (she seemed to have been in the middle of painting her nails), and gasped when she spotted Sokka standing by the door. “You look amazing!” She exclaimed, rushing towards him. 

“I used that smoothing oil in my hair like you said. I don’t know if it did much-” 

“Oh, it did, trust me,” Katara said, reaching up with her unpainted hand to push a strand of hair out of his face. Smiling, she looked him up and down before nodding in approval. “You look perfect.” 

“Thanks,” Sokka said, grinning at his sister. “I’ll probably be back late, but call me if you need anything.” 

Turning, he opened the door to the apartment and was about to leave, when Katara called out again. 

“Make sure to get pictures of you and Zuko together!” 

Sokka rolled his eyes. “This isn’t prom, Katara!” 

“I still want them!” Katara insisted. 

Sighing, Sokka shut the door behind him and breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe he and Zuko would take a selfie together but that was it. His sister was acting like he was going to a school dance. This wasn’t even a real date. He was just a dude, helping his bro out by going with him to a fancy dinner party. 

Though Sokka still remembered that during his conversation with Azula, Zuko had specifically asked if he could bring a guy ‘as a date’. So… did that mean this was a date? 

He had to admit, he wanted it to be a date. Ever since the dim sum night, Sokka had found himself thinking about Zuko constantly. Whatever bad blood that existed between them before had completely vanished. Now, Zuko was quickly becoming Sokka’s best friend. They talked every day, whether that be from Sokka visiting the tattoo parlor after his shifts ended, or just texting each other all the time. Sometimes, Zuko would call him out of the blue, asking for his opinion on completely random things, like what type of milk was better in a latte, or if he thought The Ring was an overrated horror movie or not. 

Sokka still talked to ‘Blue’ under the guise of ‘Boomerang’ too of course. But it was getting harder and harder to talk to Blue knowing that it was Zuko, and trying to keep his two identities separate from one another. 

He was dragging things out. It was obvious Zuko didn’t hate him anymore, so he really had no reason to hide it any longer. But what if Zuko was upset with him? What if he felt like Sokka had been lying to him this whole time, or that his attempts to befriend him weren’t genuine? 

Sokka would tell him eventually. But not yet. Right now, he had a dinner party to focus on. 

Arriving outside Zuko’s apartment building, Sokka walked up to the intercom and buzzed the number Zuko had told him to. He’d never been inside Zuko’s apartment before, and wondered what it was like. Was Zuko a clean person or a messy person? Did he have a lot of clutter, holding onto random objects for sentimental value, or was he more spartan? 

“Uh, hello?” Zuko’s voice scratched through the intercom. 

“Ugh, Zuko let me innnnn the humidity is ruining my beautiful hair!” Sokka whined. 

“Oh my god, you’re so dramatic, Sokka,” Zuko laughed. Suddenly, there was a loud buzzing noise, and Sokka heard the doors to the building unlock with a click. “Get up here, I’m still getting ready.” 

Telling Zuko he’d be up there in a second, Sokka hurried through the doors, and found himself in a _very_ fancy lobby. It wasn’t the wealthiest building he’d ever been in, but it was definitely close. Marble floors and a large chandelier dominated the space, leading straight into a row of elevators. Sokka hit the first up button he saw, and only had to wait a few seconds before one of the elevators dinged. 

One of the entire walls in the elevator was a floor to ceiling mirror, so Sokka fiddled with his hair, trying to smooth down what the humidity had ruined as he rode up the floors. 

Then, the doors opened. Sokka headed out, glancing to the right and left before figuring out which way led to Zuko’s apartment. There was no one else in the halls, and it almost felt like Sokka was in some sort of eerie hotel. 

Finally, he found the apartment number Zuko had texted him. Straightening out his jacket, Sokka quickly knocked on the door. He heard footsteps shuffling from behind the wood, and counted the seconds as Zuko came to the door. 

Except when the door opened, it wasn’t Zuko standing in front of him. 

The man was elderly. He was balding, with long grey hair that fell down his back, wrinkled skin, and kind eyes. 

“Oh, uh, shit, I’m at the wrong apartment aren’t I?” Sokka said, cheeks darkening with embarrassment. 

“That depends. Who are you looking for?” The man asked. His eyes twinkled with amusement, and a friendly smile peeked out from under his beard. 

“Um, I’m trying to get to my friend Zuko’s place,” Sokka explained, scratching the back of his neck. He quickly glanced at the apartment number plaque beside the door, and frowned. “That’s weird, this is the apartment number he sent me,” he muttered. 

“Oh, you’re Zuko’s friend!” The old man said, eyes widening in understanding. “He didn’t tell me you were going to be here so soon. Please, come in, he’s just finishing getting ready,” the man told Sokka, opening the door wide and gesturing for Sokka to enter. 

Zuko didn’t mention to Sokka that he lived with anyone else, let alone an old man, so Sokka was thoroughly confused as he stepped into the apartment. The old man shut the door behind him, and Sokka slipped off his shoes before quickly bowing to the man in greeting. 

“I’m Sokka. Sokka Nayakik, sir,” Sokka introduced. 

“It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, Sokka. I’m Iroh, Zuko’s uncle,” the old man replied. 

_Ohhhhhhh._

“You’re the one who owns the boba tea place, aren’t you?” Sokka asked, a wide grin spreading across his face. 

“Yes, I am! Have you been?” Iroh asked. 

“Uh, not during the day, but Zuko took me there at night one time,” Sokka explained. “He made me some really amazing tea.” 

Iroh smiled proudly. “My nephew is the best barista I’ve trained at the shop. Of course, he no longer works there, but he makes tea just as well as I do.” Then, Iroh blinked. “You said he took you there at night?” 

Sokka flushed, wondering if he was going to get Zuko in trouble. “Um, yeah, he said you were okay with him going in there at night?” 

“Oh, yes I have no issue with it!” Iroh reassured him. “I’ve just never heard of him bringing anyone else there-” 

“UNCLE! IS HE HERE YET?!” Zuko yelled from another room, cutting Iroh off. 

“Yes, Zuko, he’s here!” Iroh replied. 

Suddenly, Zuko’s head popped out from the door to a room slightly down the hall. Half of his hair was falling out of a topknot, and he was fiddling with the buttons on his shirt. 

“Sokka, can you come in here? I literally have no clue what I should be wearing,” Zuko asked. 

Nodding, Sokka waved goodbye to Zuko’s uncle. “Nice meeting you, Iroh,” Sokka said as he headed towards the door. Iroh waved back as Zuko practically yanked Sokka inside the room, quickly shutting the door behind them. 

The room was pretty sparse for the most part. It was the epitome of a rich modern Hong Kong apartment. There was a large window that overlooked the street, a flat screen TV set against the wall across from the bed, and a small bathroom connected to the room. Besides the bed, TV, and dresser though, there was no furniture in the room. Not even Zuko’s bed sheets were distinctive, as he just had a set of grey sheets with a black comforter thrown over top. 

However, while there wasn’t a lot of furniture, Sokka did notice the sketches taped up along the walls. Random designs and doodles taped above his dresser and around his mirror, all looking like they were either scrapped tattoo ideas or the result of Zuko just letting himself draw without thinking. 

Zuko was standing in the center of the room, struggling to unbutton a black dress shirt. He was already wearing plain black trousers, and it seemed like he had tied his hair up, but it had fallen out for some reason or another. 

As the buttons came undone, revealing Zuko’s (well-muscled) chest, Sokka felt his mouth go dry. He quickly turned to look out the window. 

“Sorry about my Uncle, he can be kind of chatty,” Zuko said, seemingly oblivious to the blush on Sokka’s face. 

“It’s fine, he seems like a nice guy,” Sokka said, fiddling with his phone. “So, uh, what do you need my opinion on?” 

“I’m trying to figure out what shirt I should wear,” Zuko explained. He threw the black button up he’d been wearing on the bed, and groaned as he dug through his drawers to find another one. 

Glancing over, Sokka realized he’d never seen Zuko shirtless before. While it shouldn’t have surprised him that Zuko had tattoos on his chest, given he was a tattoo artist, he still had to do a double take at the amount of ink that covered his torso. 

There were a lot of smaller tattoos scattered around his upper chest that Sokka couldn’t properly make out from this angle, but Sokka could see what looked like a large pair of swords clashing tattooed right on his sternum. 

“I was thinking a black shirt at first, but my suit jacket and pants are black, and I feel like I’d look a little too emo if I did all black,” Zuko explained, digging through his drawers. 

“Is that not what you’re going for?” Sokka teased. 

Without glancing up from his dresser, Zuko grinned and flipped Sokka off, making him laugh. “I don’t want any comments from Azula about how I look like a grim reaper, so I think I should have at least some color.” After a moment, Zuko pulled out a button up shirt that was a bright crimson color, and held it up to himself. “What do you think?” He asked Sokka. 

Sokka had to do a double take, because red looked _really_ good on Zuko. 

“Uh, I think you should, um, try it on,” he replied. 

Nodding, Zuko deftly unbuttoned the shirt and slid his arms through the sleeves, before buttoning it back up. Then, he grabbed a black suit jacket that was hanging on the corner of his bathroom door, and threw it over his shoulders. 

“What do you think?” Zuko asked. 

Well, it was good to know that Zuko looked unfairly good in a suit. But there was something off about seeing Zuko in a buttoned up shirt and suit jacket. It didn’t fit the Zuko Sokka knew from the tattoo parlor. It made him look probably like what he would’ve looked like if he hadn’t dropped his business major. 

“Can I, uh, make some adjustments?” Sokka asked, gesturing to the outfit. 

Frowning, Zuko nodded. 

Stepping over to Zuko, Sokka carefully pushed his suit jacket off and threw it back onto his bed. Then, he undid the cuff link on his sleeve, and tried to suppress the shiver that ran through him when his fingers brushed the back of Zuko’s hand. He quickly rolled up Zuko’s sleeves so they were resting just below his elbow, revealing the head of the dragon tattoo on his left arm, and the bottom of the flowers on his right arm. 

Moving back, Sokka looked Zuko up and down again. Now, with his tattoos on display and his much more casual—yet still black tie—get up, he was back to looking like Sokka’s Zuko. 

“There we go,” Sokka said with a grin. 

Zuko turned to look in the mirror, eyebrows raising in surprise as he glanced up and down at his reflection. 

“Y’know, I don’t think my father would be happy with me having my tattoos visible at this event,” Zuko pointed out, absently running his finger over the dragon design. 

Sokka’s grin widened. “Think of it as a silent ‘fuck you’ to him for forcing you to go to this thing.” 

A smile spread across Zuko’s own face at this, and he nodded at his reflection. 

“You’re a genius, Sokka,” he said, reaching up to pull his hair out of his half-done topknot. “Now I just have to put my earrings in and redo my hair and then we can head out.” 

Sitting down on Zuko’s bed, Sokka watched as Zuko combed through his hair to smooth it out, before pulling it into a topknot that was much neater than the one before it. After that, he moved closer to the mirror, pulling out some gold earrings from a small box and putting them into his ears. It turned out Zuko had double lobe piercings, he just rarely wore jewelry in them. Along with that, he also had a gold industrial bar in his left ear, which Sokka had no clue how he never noticed before. 

By the time Zuko had finished all the primping around his face, Sokka felt like he’d gotten the wind knocked out of him because Zuko looked… well, let’s just say Sokka was going to have a hard time keeping his eyes off his friend tonight. 

“I like it,” Sokka said, pretending like his mouth wasn’t dry. “We ready to go?” 

“Yup, Azula is calling a car for us, so it should be here in a few minutes,” Zuko said, typing out a quick message on his phone before shoving it in his pocket. “You ready?” 

Sokka nodded, giving himself one more once over in the mirror. “Sure am!” 

The two of them left Zuko’s room and said a quick goodbye to Iroh, before heading out of the apartment and down to the ground level of the building. Just as Zuko said, a sleek black car rolled up in front of the building and Zuko opened the door for Sokka to slide inside. 

Once the door had shut behind Zuko, the car pulled back onto the street, and they were on their way. 

As they drove, Zuko didn’t speak much. He kept his eyes on the window, tapping his fingers listlessly against his thigh. With every passing minute, his shoulders seemed to tighten, and the tapping quickened pace. It was obvious he was nervous. 

“Hey,” Sokka said softly at one point, “we’re gonna have a good time tonight. I promise.” 

Glancing back at him, Zuko’s eyebrows furrowed. “You don’t know that for sure.” 

“I do know that, because I’ll make sure of it. Even if I have to punch your dad in the face,” Sokka replied, grinning at his friend. 

“You probably shouldn’t do that if you don’t want to get thrown out on your ass by security,” Zuko said, though there was the hint of a smile on his face. 

“No, Zuko, that’s the point. You gotta be as dramatic as possible and make as much of a scene as you can. I’ll kick and scream and yell about my rights being violated and you can slip out the back behind me. It’ll be perfect!” 

Zuko snorted. “Sounds foolproof.” 

“Yup!” Sokka beamed. “And then we’ll get burgers after and ruin our nice clothes with the fast food grease.” 

“Can’t wait,” Zuko deadpanned. 

They settled back into silence, but it was better this time. Zuko’s shoulders had relaxed, and the tapping of his fingers had stopped. And when he caught Sokka staring at him, he actually gave him a small smile. 

Soon enough, the car was pulling to a stop in front of a huge building. Not only was the building gigantic, but like most other buildings in Hong Kong, it was extremely modern. The entire front wall was made of glass, with a large circular arch curving around the top. Dozens upon dozens of well-dressed people were climbing out of cars that looked similar to their own, and heading towards the entryway guarded by at least ten very beefy security guards. 

“Thank you,” Zuko said to the driver as they climbed out. 

“My pleasure. Just text me when you wish to be picked up, Mr. Wong,” the driver replied, tipping his hat at Zuko. Zuko nodded as he shut the door, and their car quickly joined the throng of other chauffeured cars making their way back onto the street. 

As they turned to face the building, Sokka heard Zuko take a shaky breath beside him. 

“I don’t want to be doing this,” Zuko muttered. 

“Hey, Zuko,” Sokka reached out to link his arm with Zuko’s, and shifted closer so their sides were pressed together. “I’m right here, okay? It’s gonna be fine.” 

Glancing over at Sokka, Zuko’s clenched jaw relaxed just a bit, a wave of relief flooding his gaze. “Okay, I believe you,” he whispered. 

Sokka couldn’t help the wide smile that spread across his face. “Let’s get going then.” 

The two waded into the bottleneck of rich socialites and businesspeople making their way into the gala. Lights were flashing all around them, the unmistakable click of cameras barraging his ears, and Sokka realized that they were walking on a red carpet. Zuko kept his head down as the cameras went off, while Sokka immediately turned to flash a smile at the photographers. He had no idea this event was going to have paparazzi, but if a picture of him ended up in some magazine or newspaper, he was going to shove it in all his friends’ faces as much as possible. 

Then, after about two seconds of trying to look at the cameras, Sokka realized he was completely blinded by the flash, and nearly tripped over his feet. Sokka grabbed onto Zuko’s shirt, blinking furiously, and Zuko quickly wrapped an arm around Sokka’s waist to guide him towards the doors. 

“That’s why you don’t look at the cameras,” Zuko whispered in his ear. 

“Yeah, I know that _now!_ ” Sokka hissed back. 

Once they got to the actual doors of the building, Sokka’s vision began to return. There was a security checkpoint, so Sokka quickly took off his coat jacket while Zuko emptied his pockets, and they walked through the metal detectors without a hitch. 

Then, with Sokka’s vision having cleared up completely and his jacket back on his shoulders, they were officially in the gala. 

The entire ballroom was decorated in silver and red. All kinds of people in designer clothing covered the room, while waiters dressed in black carried trays of champagne and wove between the crowds. Twinkling lights were strung across the ceiling in between crystalline chandeliers, reflecting off the glass walls in a way that made it look as if the walls were made of stars. 

“Holy shit…” Sokka muttered, staring out at the gala with awe. “This looks like something you’d see on tv.” 

Beside him, Zuko shrugged. “Galas are just a bunch of rich assholes looking for an excuse to drink free champagne while talking to other rich assholes about how to get even more rich.” As a waiter walked by with a tray of champagne flutes, Zuko grabbed two and quickly shoved one in Sokka’s hand. “You’re gonna need this.” 

“Thanks,” Sokka laughed, taking a small sip of the drink. “Okay, so who are we going to talk to first?” 

“Um, I’m not sure,” Zuko said, eyes scanning the crowd. “I guess we could go talk to-” 

“Zuko?” A familiar voice cut him off. 

Turning around, Sokka’s eyes widened when he saw Mai and Ty Lee standing in front of them. The two looked like complete opposites standing next to each other. Mai was wearing an ao dai that was such a dark shade of red, it was almost black. Meanwhile, Ty Lee was wearing a dusty pink dress that fell to her ankles, with fabric flowers sewn onto the neckline and the spaghetti straps. 

So basically, in short, both of them looked like they could be at a red carpet for some huge awards show. 

“Oh my god! Sokka you look amazing!” Ty Lee squealed, beaming at his outfit. “What are you doing here?” 

“He’s my guest to this,” Zuko answered for him. 

Mai raised an eyebrow. “But why are _you_ here, Zuko? I thought you weren’t going to have anything to do with your family’s business anymore.” 

Zuko sighed. “My father wanted me here because I guess he doesn’t want his investors to think he disowned me or something. I only agreed because Azula promised me she could keep him off my back for the rest of the year if I did this.” 

“You should’ve told us you were coming!” Ty Lee exclaimed. “We totally could’ve ridden over together-”

“Wait wait wait, sorry to interrupt,” Sokka said, cutting Ty Lee off, “I’m super happy to see you guys obviously, but why are you two here?” 

“Our families all do business together,” Mai explained. “That’s how we all met originally as kids.” 

“Oh wow, Zuko never mentioned that to me,” Sokka said, side-eyeing Zuko. 

“Sorry, I just don’t like talking about anything involving the family business,” Zuko shrugged. “Anyway, Azula didn’t tell me you two were invited, so I didn’t think to mention it to you.” 

“This is the biggest gala of the year probably, so my family forced me to come,” Mai complained. 

“I didn’t have to come because most of my sisters were going to be here anyway, but I decided to come as moral support for Mai,” Ty Lee said, grabbing Mai’s arm. “But just letting you know, if you see any girls that look super similar to me that aren’t wearing this dress, it’s not me.” 

“You’re a twin?” Sokka asked, frowning. 

Ty Lee shook her head. “Nope. My sisters and I all just happen to look super similar to each other, so people mix us up all the time,” Ty Lee explained. There was a brief moment where her smile faltered, showing a glimmer of sadness, but she quickly shook it off. “But on the bright side, none of them have tattoos like me!” She held up her bare arms, showing off the small doodles that decorated her bare skin. “Anyway, we should probably get going. I do wanna say hi to my parents while we’re here.” 

“We’ll catch up with you two later,” Mai said, holding up a hand as Ty Lee dragged her away. 

Sokka watched the two of them disappear, taking another sip of his champagne as he then glanced around the room. The stream of people entering seemed to have slowed as the event got into full swing. The murmur of voices got louder, the clinking of champagne glasses increased, and Zuko pressed a bit closer to Sokka’s side. 

Suddenly, Zuko stiffened up. “Shit,” he hissed. 

“What is it?” Sokka asked. 

Without warning, Zuko grabbed Sokka’s arm and began steering him deeper into the throng. They pushed past several people having conversations, with Zuko keeping his head down and Sokka struggling to keep up. 

Suddenly, they both came to a sudden stop when they realized they’d beelined straight for a table spread with hors d'oeuvres, and couldn’t go any further than this. 

“What’s going on, Zuko?” Sokka whispered. 

“I just saw someone I really don’t want to talk to,” Zuko whispered back, squeezing Sokka’s arm as he turned away from the food table. 

“Your father?” Sokka asked. 

“No, not him thankfully,” Zuko said, looking through the crowd again. He seemed to spot who he was looking for immediately, and squeezed his eyes shut. “He’s heading this way. Goddammit.” 

“Zuko, is that you?” A man’s voice called out. 

_Now_ Sokka could see who had been pursuing them. It only took one look at the man for Sokka to understand why Zuko didn’t like this guy. With his extreme mutton chops and broad frame, he looked like a military commander just waiting to yell at someone to do push ups. 

Sighing, Zuko squeezed Sokka’s arm again. “Yes, Zhao. It’s me,” he replied. 

Zhao slowed as he approached the two, eyeing Zuko with an almost predatory gaze and a malicious smile. “Well well, if it isn’t the dishonored son,” Zhao said in greeting. “I thought you had no plans on participating in the family business anymore?” 

“I don’t. I’m simply here as a favor to my... father,” Zuko said stiffly, glaring at Zhao. 

“Good. You should keep it that way.” Zhao narrowed his eyes at Zuko, before his poisonous gaze turned to Sokka. His eyes glanced down to where Zuko was holding Sokka’s arm, and he sneered. “This is exactly the reason your father wanted you gone. Every choice you’ve made in your lifestyle is the opposite of what he needed from a son. Both in your career and in your… personal relationships.” 

_Oh._ Sokka suddenly understood exactly why Zuko didn’t like Zhao. 

An idea popped into Sokka’s head, and a grin spread across his face. 

Sokka tugged his arm away from Zuko’s hand, and quickly reached up to interlace their fingers together. He ignored the way his stomach flipped at the action, and instead held eye contact with Zhao as he brought Zuko’s hand up to his face, and pressed a kiss to the back of Zuko’s hand. 

He could explain to Zuko later. Right now, he just wanted to piss Zhao off. 

“I don’t think Zuko really cares what you or his father thinks of his lifestyle choices, because he has a way better life being himself than he ever would be staying here,” Sokka said calmly. “So how about you stop being an asshat and go find Zuko’s dad so you can kiss his ass? I don’t really know you, but you just seem like a brown noser.” 

Just as Sokka expected, Zhao’s eyes practically bulged out of their sockets at the gesture. Then, his frown deepened, and he glared at Sokka. 

“Who the hell do you think you are, talking to me like that?” Zhao hissed. “I’ll have security remove you from this building right now-” 

“No you won’t,” Zuko cut in, wrapping an arm around Sokka’s waist. “I’m Zuko Wong, son of the man holding this event, and Sokka is my date. Do you really think the security guards are going to listen to you over me?” Zuko was grinning now, with a challenging glint in his gaze that Sokka hadn’t seen before. 

Sokka swore Zhao’s face turned purple at that. He was glaring daggers at both Zuko and Sokka, and after a few moments of tense silence, he huffed and stormed off, leaving the two alone. 

As soon as Zhao had disappeared into the crowd, Sokka stepped away from Zuko. 

“Okay, I’m sorry about that,” Sokka said quickly. “I just really wanted to piss that guy off, and telling him off while being super obviously gay seemed like the right way to do it.” 

“Sokka, you don’t need to apologize at all. I haven’t seen Zhao that pissed in years. That was great.” Zuko was still smiling, and there was a strange fluttering in Sokka’s chest when he realized _he_ was the reason Zuko was smiling like that. 

“I was kinda worried he was gonna faint when his face got that dark,” Sokka laughed. 

“Honestly, me too,” Zuko replied. The two laughed together for a moment, before Zuko quieted down and leaned in close, his voice dropping to a whisper. “Would you mind if, uh, we keep doing stuff like that for the rest of the night? I know it’ll piss a lot of the people here off.” 

Sokka frowned. “You mean acting super lovey dovey?” Zuko nodded, and Sokka smiled as he reached down to lace their fingers together. “My pleasure, babe.” 

The nickname dropped so easily out of Sokka’s mouth, it took half a second for his brain to process that he’d even said it. Zuko seemed to have picked up on it as well, because his cheeks flared bright red. He blinked a few times, before a slow smirk spread across his face. 

“I think I see one of my father’s investors over there. Wanna go say hi, sweetheart?” 

Now it was Sokka’s turn to blush, but he kept grinning as he nodded. 

“You bet I do.” 

The two of them ended up talking to several groups of investors over the course of the next hour. Many of them were surprised to see Zuko at the gala, and their faces when they saw Sokka and Zuko holding hands, only to then notice the tattoos along Zuko’s arms were priceless. None of them were as outwardly hostile as Zhao, but they made their disapproval for Zuko’s career choice obvious whenever he was asked to explain it. While they rarely addressed Sokka, whenever they did, they actually would seem pleasantly surprised if he explained how he was currently working towards a masters in engineering. At one point, he even got into a detailed conversation with someone about fluid-structure interactions, which led to him getting the woman’s card, saying to contact her when he graduated so she could talk to him about a job opportunity. 

Sokka didn’t expect this night to end up helping him network, but hey, he’d take it. 

By the time they got a break, Sokka’s stomach was rumbling. He beelined back towards the hors d'oeuvres table with Zuko attached to his side, and immediately dove for a small tart topped with caviar and some kind of fancy sour cream. 

“Oh my god, Zuko, this shith ith so good,” Sokka said with his mouth full, moaning as he popped another tart in his mouth. 

“Even if you weren’t a dude, I think everyone here would still disapprove of my date for having bad manners,” Zuko joked, smirking at Sokka. 

“Excuse you!” Sokka said, swallowing his food. “I have great manners. I’m lovely!” 

Suddenly, Zuko’s smile turned fond. “Yeah, you are,” he replied, and Sokka felt his stomach flip again (and it wasn’t because of the food). 

Before Sokka could figure out how on earth he was supposed to respond to that, a woman pushed through the crowd to get to the food table behind Sokka. It was only when she was bent over trying to grab a caviar tart that Sokka recognized her as Azula. 

“Hello Zuzu, Zuzu’s date,” Azula greeted, nodding at Zuko and Sokka as she addressed them respectively. Like most of the other women at the gala, Azula was dressed in a very expensive looking dress. It was a tight fitting gown that fell to Azula’s ankles, ironically almost the exact same shade of red as Zuko’s shirt. The silky fabric rippled with every movement Azula made, and it almost reminded Sokka of living flames. 

“Azula,” Zuko greeted back, nodding at his sister. “Does father know that I’m here?” 

“Yes, he saw you from across the room. He wasn’t very happy about your choice of outfit though,” she told him, eyeing the visible tattoos on his arms. “Personally though… while I don’t understand the appeal of tattoos, I must admit, yours aren’t utterly repugnant to look at.” 

Was that a compliment? Sokka was pretty sure that was supposed to be a compliment, but coming from Azula it really was hard to tell. 

“Wow, uh, thanks Azula,” Zuko replied, blinking in surprise. Well, judging from Zuko’s reaction, that was probably a big compliment coming from her. 

“Anyway,” Azula continued, swallowing a bite of caviar tart. “The real hit of the evening though is this one right here,” she said, pointing at Sokka. 

“Me?” Sokka asked. 

“Yes, you. I don’t have the slightest clue who you are, yet every investor we’ve spoken with that the two of you have already talked to won’t shut up about ‘the remarkable young man Zuko is here with’.” 

Now it was Sokka’s turn to be surprised. He thought the conversations were going well, but he didn’t think he was making that big of an impression. It’s not like he was even talking about anything important, just occasionally discussing his engineering project or talking about his future career plans. 

“I mean, you did get a job offer, Sokka,” Zuko chimed in. 

Azula’s eyes widened, and she stared at Sokka for a moment before glancing back to Zuko. 

“I… was hesitant about you bringing a man as your date and the conflict that could cause, but it seems like you have some brains in there after all.” Azula then turned back to Sokka, and looked him up and down, appraising him. “You are objectively handsome I suppose. I don’t know why you’d agree to date my brother if you’re so amazing, but I suppose we all have our flaws.” She then shot a teasing smirk at Zuko, who scoffed in fake offense. 

“I may be the family fuck-up, but at least I have more game than you,” Zuko shot back. 

“Oh Zuzu, if I wanted a relationship, believe me, I would have one,” Azula said, patting Zuko’s cheek as she started to back away into the crowd. “Anyway, I have to get back to the party. Everyone important has seen you now, so you’re free to leave anytime you like.” 

And just like that, Azula was gone, leaving Sokka and Zuko in their private huddle by the food alone once more. 

“I can’t remember the last time we teased each other like that,” Zuko muttered, watching Azula as she waded through the crowd. 

Reaching down, Sokka laced his fingers with Zuko’s, and squeezed his hand. 

“Maybe this night isn’t all bad after all,” Sokka said, grinning at Zuko. 

Turning to Sokka, Zuko returned the smile, and squeezed his hand back. 

“No, I don’t think it is.” 

Now with the go ahead to leave, Sokka and Zuko only spent a little longer at the gala. They stuffed their faces with more hors d'oeuvres and finished off their glasses of champagne before getting caught up in another conversation with yet another wealthy business person. Once again, Sokka found himself talking about his university project, and by the time they were able to break away, Sokka had another business card in his pocket. On their way out they managed to find Mai and Ty Lee and share quick goodbyes with them as well. 

Then, they were free. 

The cool night breeze was a shock compared to the warmth of all the bodies in the ballroom, and Sokka pressed himself against Zuko’s side as they waited for their car to come pick them up. Zuko didn’t seem to mind this, and even though there were no homophobic family friends they needed to perform for out here, Zuko still kept his arm wrapped around Sokka’s waist. 

Soon enough, they were tucked away inside the car, heading away from all the glitz and the glamour and back to their normal everyday lives. It almost felt surreal to Sokka, how fast the evening had gone by. So much had happened, yet at the same time it reminded him of a fading dream, the flashing lights and the champagne bubbles nothing but memories for Sokka now. 

At one point, Sokka’s eyes grew heavy as he watched the streetlights pass outside the car windows. He leaned against Zuko, and let his head settle onto Zuko’s warm shoulder. Beside him, Zuko stiffened in surprise, before quickly relaxing and shifting his arm so it was resting around Sokka’s shoulders. Sokka began to drift off, and he felt Zuko rubbing small circles into his shoulder. 

Then, the car was jerking to a stop, and the spell was broken. 

Straightening up, Sokka peered out the car window to see his own apartment building outside. 

“I guess this is my stop,” Sokka said, a strange ache forming in his chest at the idea of the night ending already. 

“Yeah, it is,” Zuko replied softly. “Here, let me walk you to the door.” 

They both got out of the car and made their way to the front door of the apartment building. Sokka hadn’t realized how late it had gotten, but there was barely anyone out on the street, meaning that for the most part, he and Zuko were alone. 

“Sokka-” 

“Zuko-” 

They both stopped when they heard the other talking, and gave each other wide-eyed looks before dissolving into soft laughs. 

“Here, you go first,” Sokka gave in. 

“Um, I just wanted to say thank you again for agreeing to come tonight,” Zuko said, scratching the back of his neck. “I honestly thought this was going to be terrible to get through, but you actually made it… fun.” 

“I’m really glad you brought me. And not just because of the job offers,” Sokka admitted, adding the last part hurriedly. “I always have a great time whenever we hang out.” 

At this, Zuko reached out and took one of Sokka’s hands in his own. 

“Me too,” Zuko replied, his voice soft. 

In that moment, under the warm glow of the orange streetlights with no one around them, Sokka almost leaned in. 

But then there was a loud sneeze from their chauffeured car, and the moment was broken. 

Zuko squeezed Sokka’s hand, and Sokka’s heart skipped a beat when he felt Zuko’s thumb brush the back of his hand. Then, he let go. 

“I should get going,” Zuko said, now looking at the ground. 

“Uh, yeah, I should, uh, get inside,” Sokka stammered in reply. 

Turning around, Zuko headed down the stairs of the landing and waved a goodbye. “I’ll see you on Monday?” 

“Yup, sure will!” Sokka replied, waving back. 

With one final wave, Zuko climbed back in the car and shut the door. Sokka watched as the sleek black car drove off, leaving him alone in front of his apartment building. 

Sighing to himself, Sokka opened the door to his building and began the trudge up the stairs and to his door. As he walked, he pulled his hair out of his ponytail, massaging his scalp as he stifled a yawn. When he got back into his apartment, he was diving face first into his bed and wasn’t going to crawl out for at least ten hours. 

Finally reaching his apartment door, Sokka fumbled for his keys in his pocket, and clicked open the lock. Then, he quietly pushed open the door, figuring Katara was probably asleep by now. Sure enough, the apartment was dark, and Katara’s door was closed. 

Yawning again, Sokka started towards his own room, when he heard a door opening. Turning towards Katara’s room, he expected his sister to step out with her sleep-mussed hair and ask him how it went. 

Instead, he found himself staring at a wide-eyed Aang. 

“Uh, hey Sokka,” Aang whispered, carefully shutting Katara’s door behind him. “Katara’s asleep so, um, try to be quiet?” 

Sokka had to blink a few times for his sluggish brain to comprehend what was going on. It was night, Katara was sleeping, and here was Aang stealthily creeping out of her room with cheeks as red as a pomegranate. 

“Please tell me this isn’t what it looks like.” 

“It’s not!” Aang answered immediately. “Katara invited me over since you were gone and we just watched some movies in her room, she fell asleep on my shoulder so I had to wait till she was in a really deep sleep before I could move.” 

Sokka raised an eyebrow. “You _just_ watched movies?” 

Aang looked away. “How did your dinner thing with Zuko go?” He asked in a painfully obvious attempt to change the subject. 

Deciding it wasn’t really his business what the two of them had been doing in there, Sokka didn’t push it. 

There was a moment though where Sokka paused, and realized something. He and Aang hadn’t really gotten a chance to hang out one on one… in a long time. They used to talk and hang out all the time. But the only times he’d seen his best friend recently was when he was at work. 

So despite being exhausted, Sokka found himself opening his mouth. 

“Let’s go to the kitchen so we don’t wake Katara up,” he said, gesturing to Katara’s door. 

Aang nodded, and Sokka beelined for the fridge to pour himself some water. He held the pitcher up in Aang’s direction as a silent offer, and Aang nodded, so he got two glasses and walked over to the small dining table they had near the front door. 

He and Aang settled down, and he poured the water for both, leaning back and taking a long sip of his own. 

“The gala was actually a lot of fun,” Sokka said once he had swallowed, answering Aang’s earlier question. “Zuko and I both thought it was gonna be stressful, but we both had a pretty good time.” 

“Oh, I’m so glad!” Aang chirped, still keeping his voice low. “I know Zuko was really stressed about it.” 

“Yeah, I’m just glad I was able to be there for him for something like this.” 

There was a moment of silence between them, with Sokka tracing his finger around the edge of his glass, and Aang tapping on the table. 

“So it’s going well?” Aang then asked. “The whole, ‘befriending Zuko because he’s actually your internet best friend’ thing?” 

Sokka snorted. “Yeah, he definitely doesn’t hate me anymore, so mission accomplished.” He remembered the way Zuko had squeezed his hand, the weight of Zuko’s arm around his waist, Zuko letting Sokka curl into his shoulder. It was safe to say he didn’t hate Sokka anymore. 

“When are you going to tell him?” Aang continued. 

Ah. The question Sokka still wanted to avoid. 

“I’m… not sure,” Sokka answered, frowning at the table. “I know I should. But I’m just still so worried for no good reason. I keep thinking he’s gonna be pissed at me for lying to him, or think that me befriending him was fake, or something like that.” Groaning, Sokka rested his forehead against the table. “It’s stupid, I know.” 

“That’s not stupid,” Aang told him, brows furrowed. “But I really don’t think he’ll be upset.” 

“Yeah, I guess not,” Sokka mumbled. 

There was another beat of silence, when suddenly Aang gasped. 

“Oh my god. I get it now,” he said, a wide grin spreading across his face. “You have a crush on Zuko now! That’s why you’re scared!” 

“Wh- no, I don’t!” Sokka spluttered. 

Aang just raised an eyebrow at him, and Sokka sighed. 

“Okay, maybe I do,” he said, staring at the table. “I’m just… I’m so scared about fucking this up. I _really_ like him, Aang. Like, I thought I liked him as Blue, but now that I know who he actually is and we’ve hung out, it’s just so much more.” 

“Sokka, you should know that I’ve seen Zuko smile more with you than I ever have before, and I’ve been friends with him for a while.” 

Looking up from the table, Sokka blinked at Aang. “Seriously?” 

Aang nodded. “Yeah.” 

A warmth bloomed in Sokka’s chest at that. It was pretty obvious that Zuko felt something for him, but hearing Aang put it like that… _he smiles more with you_... it made Sokka really happy. 

“Thanks for telling me that,” Sokka said quietly. 

“Of course.” 

There was another moment of quiet between the two of them. Then, Sokka realized he had something he wanted to ask Aang. 

“Can I ask what’s going on with you and Katara lately?” Sokka asked. “This isn’t me pulling some protective older brother shit, you know I don’t do that. She just won’t tell me anything but I keep getting, like, vibes from you two that there’s something going on.” 

Blushing again, it was Aang’s turn to look at the table. “Um, well, we haven’t made anything official or anything,” he answered. 

“...but?” 

“But we have been, uh, doing stuff,” Aang finished. 

“Oh! Ew! Forget I asked-” 

“No, not like that!” Aang whisper-yelled. “Just, like, holding hands, hugging a lot, some cuddling, stuff like that.” 

Sokka grinned. This was adorable. 

“So when are you gonna ask her to be your girlfriend? For the second time?” Sokka asked, resting his chin on his hand. 

“I don’t know. I want to, but I know she’s really stressed with medical school and I don’t want her to think we have to make anything official and put that stress on her,” Aang answered, folding his arms over his chest. “I just didn’t think this would ever happen again, and I don’t wanna mess it up again.” 

At this, Sokka’s grin faded. 

“What do you mean, ‘again’? I thought last time it was more of a mutual break up.” 

Aang shrugged, picking at his sweater. “It kinda was, but she suggested it first. So I still can’t help but worry I did something wrong.” 

“Aang, dude,” Sokka leaned over the table to rest a hand on Aang’s arm. “While I can’t say I can read Katara’s mind, from what she told me, you didn’t do anything wrong. It was more of a personal thing for her. She was trying to figure out who she was, and a part of that included seeing what she was like with other people. Like, you were the first person she ever officially dated.” 

“I know. I just didn’t realize how much I’ve missed her all these years until recently,” Aang explained. “She’s just so amazing.” 

Ah. Sokka knew that wistful tone in his voice. Sokka had sounded the same way when he had first started crushing on Suki. 

“I get it. But trust me, the way she talks about you… something changed with her, and I definitely think she misses you just as much as you miss her,” Sokka told him. “But she told me a little while ago that you started texting Teo again, so she might not know what you’re feeling.” 

“Teo?” Aang frowned. “I mean, yeah, we still text sometimes because we’re still friends. But nothing’s going on between us anymore.” 

“Then I think you gotta tell her that,” Sokka said. 

Sighing, Aang took another sip of his water. “Yeah, you’re right. I’ll try to find the right time.” Then, he looked up at Sokka and a small smirk crossed his face. “I could tell you the same thing though.” 

“Hey!” Sokka protested. “We already had my relationship talk, we’re on you now.” 

“Look, I’m just saying-” 

“Shhhh!” Sokka held a finger up to Aang’s lips. “I think we’re done here. Both of us have gotten called out about our crushes.” 

Aang snorted and pushed Sokka’s hand away. “Fair enough. I should be heading out anyway.” He pushed to his feet and Sokka did the same. 

Stepping forward, Sokka gave Aang a quick hug, doing the ‘bro pat’ on his back before moving back. “We need to hang out soon. Just you and me.” 

“We definitely do.” Aang grinned. 

“Okay, well, I’m exhausted, but we’ll work this out tomorrow,” Sokka said, stifling another yawn. “Now get out of my house, you freeloader.” 

Laughing, Aang walked out the front door, and Sokka shut it quietly behind him. 

Sokka knew he needed to take his own advice. He had to man up and just tell Zuko everything. 

But he could work that out in the morning. Right now, the call of his bed was like a siren song. 

Not even changing out of his suit, Sokka was out like a light as soon as his head hit the pillow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> God this chapter was so fun to write. Did I just want an excuse to imagine everyone in fancy clothes? Maybe. 
> 
> Anyway I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Again, thank you for all the love you've given me so far on this fic, please make sure to leave a comment if you liked it! They really make my day
> 
> hmu on tumblr @thatsnotrelevant 
> 
> (as you all can see, I changed my ao3 user to match my tumblr user now so no more confusion!)


	6. jook and tea

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sokka is sick

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys!! updated this on time again thank god
> 
> thank you all so so much for all the love this fic has gotten so far, we're almost at the end so keep an eye out for the last chapter after this! 
> 
> this is a very fun chapter ;)

**Sokka:** Sukiiiiiiiiii

**Sokka:** Suki Suki Suki

**Sokka:** look at ur phoneeeee

**Sokka:** pleaseeeeee I know ur awake your alarm would’ve already gone off by now

**Suki:** Someone better be dead

**Suki:** I was trying to snooze for five extra minutes but you kept buzzing me

**Sokka:** I’m sorry but i cant come into work today

**Sokka:** u gotta do opening

**Suki:** HUH

**Suki:** why???

**Sokka:** bro i feel like literal death

**Sokka:** like i just ate fire

**Sokka:** like im seeing colors when i speak

**Sokka:** i feel like gum at the bottom of a shoe

**Suki:** you’re sick?

**Sokka:** yes 

**Sokka:** bad times

**Sokka:** already puked

**Sokka:** head hurts

**Sokka:** lots of sweating like im real gross rn

**Suki:** Ok that’s enough info

**Suki:** It’s ok I can cover you for opening

**Sokka:** you are the most beautiful and badass and intelligent woman I’ve ever met

**Sokka:** I’m honored every day I get to exist in your presence

**Suki:** alright don’t lay it on too thick

**Suki:** just focus on getting better bud

**Sokka:** Im gonna go back to sleep

**Suki:** rest up!

After sending his texts to Suki in a half-asleep daze as dawn crept over the horizon, Sokka threw his phone to the foot of his bed, and closed his eyes again. With his pounding headache, shutting his eyes was a blessed relief, and in only a few minutes, Sokka was dead to the world once more. 

Some time later, Sokka blinked open sticky eyes to the sun high in the sky. As soon as he reached for his phone, he groaned, the action sending a wave of nausea crashing over him. Settling back into his pillow, he checked the time and saw it was nearly eleven-thirty in the morning. His alarm had been set for five, which meant he’d gotten around an additional six hours of sleep. 

And yet, he was still sick as hell. 

However, now that it wasn’t five in the morning, Sokka knew he had to get up and actually take care of himself. Katara would already be at school by now, so he couldn’t bug her to make him soup like he usually did when he was sick. That meant he’d have to make it himself. 

Pushing to his feet was a monumental effort. His vision danced with black spots, and he had to grip the edge of his bed while he steadied himself. Then, he slowly made his way out of his room and into the kitchen. 

Okay, first things first, water. Grabbing the biggest glass in the kitchen he could find, Sokka poured himself a large glass of water, and forced himself to down the whole thing in a single go. Then, he poured a second glass and did the same. He knew not to let himself become dehydrated when he was sick. No, he’d definitely learned that lesson. 

In their second year of university together, Suki had woken up one morning feeling really sick. Sokka had tried to take care of her, but at one point he had to go to class. While he was in his lecture though, he’d gotten a text from her saying she’d tried to go to the dining hall to grab some food since she hadn’t eaten anything yet that day, and she’d come super close to fainting. 

Sokka had immediately left his lecture to go take her to the student health clinic. Turns out, she had been severely dehydrated because she’d puked and hadn’t had any water since then. After that, Sokka was much more mindful of both reminding his best friend to stay hydrated, and keeping himself hydrated as well, especially when he was sick. 

Once the second water glass was empty, Sokka practically threw himself into the shower. He had to sit down on the floor of the shower twice because he’d gotten dizzy, but he got himself cleaned up and feeling marginally better. 

Then he was out and in the kitchen. He knew what Katara would say, that he needed to force himself to eat something to keep his strength up. But he didn’t have the energy to cook anything right now. Digging through his cabinet, Sokka grabbed three small containers of applesauce, and a handful of some pilot bread crackers as well. Usually, he was hesitant about digging into the pilot bread stash he and Katara had, considering their only way of getting them was to have Dad or Gran Gran mail them from Alaska. However, Sokka was sick, so he felt he deserved them. 

It wasn’t much food, but he definitely wouldn’t be able to keep any richer snacks down right now. 

Pouring himself his third glass of water, Sokka shuffled back to his room and cozied up in his bed once more. Taking one of the applesauce containers, he peeled back the top and started slurping it like a drink (he’d forgotten to grab a spoon), while using his free hand to check his phone. 

Suddenly, his eyes widened when he spotted a text Suki had sent only a few minutes ago. 

**Suki:** Hey how do you make Zuko’s tea?? Ty Lee just sent their order in and literally all he said was “jasmine tea” but I know you make it some weirdly specific way

**Sokka:** oh shit yeah, you gotta heat the water to exactly 80 degrees before you put the leaves in, then you have to steep it for 3 minutes 

**Suki:** will do! Thanks!

Clicking out of his texts with Suki, Sokka checked his email, smiling when he saw he’d gotten an A on the last assignment he turned in. Then he checked the app his university used to keep track of his classes, and glanced over his course pages to make sure he didn’t have any impending assignments due in the next few days. The last thing he wanted to do while sick was schoolwork. 

After that was done, Sokka found himself clicking discord, where his dms with Blue were still open from the night before. The two of them had gotten into a heated debate about Fullmetal Alchemist, and whether having fire powers like Roy Mustang’s was more useful than general alchemy like Edward Elric had. Sokka was strictly in favor of Ed’s alchemy, while Blue was insistent that flame alchemy was extremely powerful and could be used in many different ways. Sokka wasn’t so sure. 

It was a bit weird talking to Blue these days. He’d gotten so close with Zuko now, that trying to avoid bringing up topics they had discussed under their internet pseudonyms was getting very difficult. The other day he’d barely caught himself before making a comment about a movie Boomerang and Blue had watched together the night before. 

Sokka knew he had to tell Zuko that he was Boomerang soon. 

But for today, he was sick, and therefore wasn’t going to worry about anything because when you were sick you got to forget about all your other responsibilities in the name of ‘getting better’. 

A few minutes later, Sokka got another text from Suki. 

**Suki:** lmao you should’ve told Zuko you weren’t coming today

**Suki:** he looked like a kicked puppy when I walked through that door instead of you

**Sokka:** he did??

**Suki:** yes

**Suki:** I told him you were sick and he got super worried

Sokka’s heart skipped a beat at that. Zuko was worried about him because he was sick. That was… really nice to hear. 

It had been several weeks since the gala, and while there was definitely something different between him and Zuko, neither of them had made any attempts at a move. At the same time, he was still talking to Zuko as Boomerang, which complicated things because of the ambiguous relationship Blue and Boomerang seemed to have. 

Blue flirted with Boomerang a lot more than he had in the past, and Sokka wondered what had spurred on that change. Was it their failed chance to meet in person? Or did it have to do with Sokka himself befriending Zuko, and the blurring line between their own offline relationship? Sokka really wasn’t sure. 

Suddenly, Sokka’s phone buzzed again. But this time, the text wasn’t from Suki. 

**Zuko:** Where do you live? 

**Sokka:** um why do you want to know

**Zuko:** Because I’m gonna come over and make you tea??

**Sokka:** huh

**Sokka:** why

**Zuko:** You’re sick right??

**Sokka:** Yea I feel like shit

**Zuko:** My uncle has some special tea he always makes me when I’m sick and it helps a ton so I’m gonna come make some for you

**Sokka:** but don’t you have work???

**Zuko:** Not really, my only appointment today had to cancel last minute

**Sokka:** oh

**Sokka:** but you could get sick from me!!

**Zuko:** It’s fine trust me

**Zuko:** Look if you don’t tell me where you live I’m gonna just ask Suki

**Sokka:** ...dammit

**Sokka:** fine

**Sokka:** but if you get sick don’t blame me

Sokka typed up his address and sent it to Zuko, wondering if he was still stuck in a dream. The idea of Zuko wanting to come over to make him tea because he was sick…it was very sweet, but it just didn’t feel real. Sure, Zuko was one of his closest friends at this point, and the gala had definitely confirmed there was something _more_ between them, but coming over to take care of someone when they were sick was something Sokka could only describe as a new level. 

While Sokka really didn’t want Zuko to see him all gross and sick like this, he also knew Zuko would definitely have made good on asking Suki, and Suki would’ve had no qualms telling him Sokka’s address _and_ where he kept the spare key. At least this way Sokka had a rough estimate of when he was going to show up. 

So despite his aching body, Sokka shuffled around his room, throwing out his empty applesauce cups and wiping away any cracker crumbs left on his bedsheets. Then, he used his front camera as a mirror, to see how dead he looked. 

His eyes were sunken in, his lips were chapped, and his hair was a ratty mess. 

Shit. 

Forcing himself to get up, Sokka splashed some cold water on his face before brushing out his hair. He almost tied it up in his usual wolftail, but decided against it because he knew tying it up would just give him a headache right now. He didn’t look all that much better, but at least he didn’t look gross, and right now that was a win. 

Then, Sokka dug around in his bathroom cabinets. He had some cold medicine in here, he just had to find it. 

When he spotted it, Sokka nearly let out a very loud cheer. He popped two of the pills into his mouth and downed them with a glass of water. Then, he shuffled back to his room to lay on his bed until Zuko got here. 

As he waited, Sokka felt the cold medicine kick in. It settled into his arms and legs like weights, a fog spreading over his mind as his headache faded and his nose cleared. 

Zuko didn’t take very long. He knocked on the door with several sharp raps, and Sokka grunted as he heaved himself out of bed to answer it. However, as soon as he was standing, his vision started to spin. 

That was when Sokka realized taking a bunch of cold medicine right before Zuko came over probably wasn’t a good idea. 

“You look like shit,” was the first thing Zuko said to him when he opened the door. 

It took Sokka a moment to formulate a response, because when he saw Zuko, his already drugged up brain short-circuited. There wasn’t anything special about Zuko’s appearance today. He was just wearing his usual outfit of a t-shirt and skinny jeans, but had his arms _always_ looked so muscular? And had his jawline _always_ been that sharp? 

“Well, you just look lovely today!” It was supposed to sound like a sarcastic retort, but with Sokka’s already slurring words, it definitely came out more pathetic than it should’ve. Whoops. 

Zuko snorted and raised an eyebrow. Sokka tried not to sway while he stood. 

Turning around, he left the door open for Zuko to follow him inside, and shuffled towards the couch. He collapsed on it in a heap, and groaned when it sent shooting pains through his head. 

Zuko shut the door behind him, looking around the apartment curiously as he moved towards the kitchen. He had a large white bag in his hand that Sokka hadn’t noticed when he opened the door, and he ended up setting it on top of one of the kitchen counters. 

“What’s that?” Sokka asked, rolling onto his stomach to watch Zuko from the couch. 

“Tea supplies,” Zuko answered, carefully taking out an old looking teapot, followed by several small jars of dried herbs, and a metal tea ball. “How are you feeling?” 

“Bad. Big big bad,” Sokka answered, bringing a hand up to his forehead. “I feel like a noodle being boiled in a pot…hot and wiggly but not in a good way.” 

To Zuko’s credit, he didn’t blink twice at Sokka’s weirdness. “No, I mean your symptoms,” he clarified, taking a water bottle out of the bag and filling the teapot up with water. 

“Uh…headache…and nausea…but then I took some medicine. It helped but I’m just so _tired_. Brain also like a boiled noodle…but I think that’s the medicine.” 

Zuko snorted, looking over the herb jars and opening up a few. He started muttering to himself, and Sokka watched as he pinched some of the dried herbs between his fingers and dropped them into the tea ball. “I know what my uncle uses for headaches and nausea, but I’m a little unsure about fatigue.” 

After Zuko set the teapot onto the stove to boil, he continued to add different herbs to the tea ball. Sokka watched him with the fascination of a cat watching TV. He wasn’t really paying attention to what Zuko was doing or registering what was going on, but it was fun to follow him with his eyes as he darted back and forth around the kitchen. 

Sokka had never really reacted well to cold medicine. While it would help his symptoms, he always got super loopy, even if he took half the recommended amount. It wasn’t the end of the world, but the part of Sokka’s brain that still had logical reasoning knew that he was going to be very mad at himself for the way he was acting around Zuko today. 

Oh well. That was Future Sokka’s problem, not his. 

A few minutes later, Zuko was walking back towards the couch with a steaming mug in his hands. “Here you go, boiled noodle,” he teased. He set it down on the coffee table in front of Sokka, and Sokka straightened on the couch so he was sitting upright. 

He picked up the tea mug in his hands. Although his nose was pretty stuffed up, from the waft smell he got, he could tell there was a lot of ginger in this. Usually, he wasn’t the biggest fan of ginger tea, as it was too strong for his taste. However, _Zuko_ made this for him, and it’s also not like he was going to taste this anyway. 

Bringing the mug up to his lips, he took a long sip. He could feel the slight sting of the ginger, and while there were definitely other flavors at play, he couldn’t identify any of them. However, the effect was immediate. 

His sore throat was soothed, and the building pressure in his sinuses eased up. Sokka sighed in relief, eagerly taking another long gulp of the drink. 

“Oh my god, Zuko, this is so good,” Sokka mumbled, holding the steam close to his face. 

“Is it working?” Zuko asked. 

“ _Yes_ ,” Sokka sighed, setting the mug back down on the counter as he leaned back into the couch. He’d already finished three quarters of the drink. Hopefully Zuko had made more than just one cups worth. 

“That’s good,” Zuko said, glancing at Sokka. 

Now, actually looking Zuko directly in the eyes, Sokka realized that he was worried. He was bouncing his leg up and down where he sat, and he kept running his gaze over Sokka’s body like he was trying to make sure Sokka wasn’t going to pass out on him. 

Sokka grinned at the realization. Tough, scary Zuko was worried about Sokka’s cold. 

“You’re too good to me,” Sokka mumbled, flopping over so his head was resting on Zuko’s leg. “You came over and made me tea. That was so nice of you.” 

“It’s nothing,” Zuko said, staring down at Sokka with forced casualness. 

“Nooooo I mean it!” Sokka insisted, reaching up to poke Zuko’s cheek. “You’re super super nice. Like, you look all scary with your tattoos and the emo hair and the piercings, but you’re just a dorky barista at heart.” 

Smirking, Zuko lightly slapped Sokka’s hand away. “I’m not scary.” 

“You are! Or at least I used to think you were.” Sokka grinned dopily at the memories. “Like, I gave you sooooooo much shit, but I was always kinda scared you were gonna punch me out if I pushed it too far.” 

At this, Zuko’s expression tightened. “Oh, um, I’m sorry. I didn’t know I came off like that.” 

Realizing that had come off wrong, Sokka immediately tried to backtrack. 

“No no no! It’s okay, you’re cool!” Sokka was now poking Zuko in the chest. “It just made getting to know you a lot more fun.” 

“Oh.” Zuko relaxed. “Okay, that’s good to know.” 

“Yeah!” Sokka let his hand drop back to his own chest. “You’re so nice. Like, I was such a dick to you for no good reason and yet you do stuff like make me tea and take me to your Uncle’s boba shop at midnight.” 

“Sokka, you know I forgave you for all that a while ago,” Zuko said. 

“I know, but that doesn’t make it okay.” Reaching up again, Sokka grabbed Zuko’s free hand, and started playing with his fingers. “I was a big asshole and you didn’t deserve that.” 

“I mean, your reasoning wasn’t entirely invalid. You thought I could’ve been the reason Jet broke up with Katara. You were just protecting your sister,” Zuko insisted, watching as Sokka messed with his hand. 

Sokka shook his head. “No no no, it wasn’t just that.” The tea had relaxed him even more than the medicine had, and words were spilling out of him at this point. “Like, yeah I was pissed about Katara, but there was something else too. Something dumb.” 

Zuko frowned. “Like what?” 

Keeping his eyes on Zuko’s hand, Sokka smirked. 

“I was actually jealous of you,” he admitted. 

Now Zuko just looked perplexed. “Jealous?”

“Uh huh. I didn’t think Jet liked guys until I saw you two licking each other's faces in the tattoo shop that day,” Sokka explained. The small part of his logical brain was screaming at him to stop, but it was easy enough to ignore with how warm and relaxed he was. 

Suddenly, understanding dawned on Zuko’s face. 

“You liked Jet…” he muttered. “Then he got with Katara so you assumed he was straight, until you saw me and him…” he trailed off, and Sokka nodded. 

“Yup. Before him and Katara got together, we had a few classes together. At least, before he dropped out. Me and Katara even had a bet going as to who could get a date with him first.” Sokka chuckled at the memory. “She won, so I just figured he was straight. Then later I saw you with him and I realized the issue wasn’t that I was a guy, it was just _me_.” 

“Sokka…” There was a worried crease in between Zuko’s brows now, and even in his drugged-up state, Sokka still knew he needed to backtrack. 

“Noooo don’t be upset it’s okay I’m not mad anymore!” He reassured Zuko. “I was just being a dumb sad boy who thought I wasn’t good enough.” 

“Do you still think that?” Zuko asked softly. “That you’re not good enough?” 

Sokka paused, blinking. He wanted to tell Zuko of course not, of course he knew he was good enough. But that would be lying, and he didn’t think he could make a lie sound very convincing right now. 

So he stayed silent. And Zuko’s frown deepened. 

“You shouldn’t think that about yourself,” Zuko said, shifting his hand in Sokka’s grip so he was holding it. “You’re an amazing person, Sokka. And I’m not just saying that.” 

Heat rose to Sokka’s cheeks at Zuko’s intensity. Where was this coming from? 

“I… I appreciate that,” Sokka muttered, his brain running too sluggishly for him to form a better response than that. He meant it though. Hearing Zuko say that meant a lot to him, because while he knew he wasn’t exactly a boring person, he didn’t think of himself as anything special. He was just… Sokka. Nothing more nothing less. 

But Zuko had called him _amazing._ It made his heart flutter in his chest. 

Sokka opened his mouth to say more, but was interrupted by a yawn forcing its way out of him. It was then he realized his eyelids were starting to droop, and he remembered that the cold medicine he took had some sleepy stuff in it. 

“Shit, uh-” Sokka stifled another yawn, “god, I’m sleepy. The medicine I took… it’s sleepytime stuff isn’t it?” 

“Uh, if you’re feeling really tired, probably, yeah,” Zuko shrugged, shifting away from Sokka. “I should, uh, go I think-” 

“Wait, no, don’t leave!” Sokka suddenly said. “You should stay! I’ll only be asleep for, like, twenty minutes, probably.” 

Zuko raised an eyebrow. “Really?” 

“I dunno, maybe it’ll be an hour, maybe two.” Sokka shrugged, and reached out to take Zuko’s hand again. “But don’t leave me pleeeeeaaaaaase. I wanna hang out with you when I wake up!” 

“Uh…you sure?” Zuko asked, looking uncertain. 

Sokka yawned again. It was getting really hard for him to keep his eyes open. 

“Yuperooni artichokey. Plus, I’m gonna want more of that amazing delicious slurpy tea when I wake up.” 

Zuko chuckled, and squeezed Sokka’s hand. “Alright. But you should probably go to your bed to nap so you don’t wake up with a sore back.” 

“But standing is so much workkkkk!” Sokka complained. The idea of standing up right now felt monumental to him. His body was made of lead, and he had no intention of getting up from his current spot. 

There was a pause from Zuko. He gave Sokka an odd look, eyes running from Sokka’s face to his legs, and then he smirked. He pulled his hand out of Sokka’s and stood up abruptly, and before Sokka could ask him what he was doing, there were suddenly arms looping under his legs and his shoulders. 

“WHOA WAIT ZUKO WHAT-” 

“Oh, shush,” Zuko said, sounding only slightly breathless as he picked Sokka up in his arms. “Your room is the one there, right?” He asked, jerking his head towards the door closest to the kitchen. 

Sokka nodded, his face burning as the realization that Zuko was _carrying_ him fully set in. 

Zuko grunted with every step towards Sokka’s room, but showed no other signs of strain. His arms were steady, and his breathing was even. Sokka was extremely impressed by this, and almost wished he could watch from an outsider’s perspective just so he could see what Zuko’s arms looked like right now. 

Nudging open the door to Sokka’s room, Zuko quickly made the last few steps over to his bed before gently setting Sokka down on the mattress. Then, he straightened back up and stretched his arms out. “Go to sleep. I’ll be in the kitchen whenever you wake up.” 

At this point, Sokka’s half-asleep, drugged-up brain was incapable of forming any coherent thoughts, especially after _that_. So instead of giving Zuko a proper response, he just nodded, staring at his friend with wide eyes as he exited the room, shutting the door gently behind him. 

Now that…that was hot. 

Sokka would never have admitted it to anyone, but he was thinking about Zuko’s arms as he drifted back off into sleep.

Sokka woke to a bright light behind his eyelids.

Blinking them open, Sokka recoiled when he realized a ray of sunlight was streaming right from the window behind his bed and onto his face. 

Sitting up, Sokka rubbed at his eyes for a moment to brush away the blurriness. His body was still achy, and his sinuses felt like they were going to explode. However, the brain fog from earlier seemed to have lifted, and when he thought back to how he acted around Zuko, his cheeks flushed. 

Stupid Sokka of the Past. 

Wait. He asked Zuko to stay here. Had he actually stayed? Sokka had no idea how long he’d been asleep for. 

Some clattering in the kitchen answered Sokka’s question. It was too early for Katara to be home from her classes, which meant unless a robber had broken in and was currently digging through his cabinet for food, Zuko had decided to stay. 

Slowly, Sokka climbed out of bed. His vision swam with black spots, but after waiting for a moment, they faded away. When he took a deep breath, his tongue felt sticky and his throat burned. He shuffled over to his desk to grab his water bottle, and he nearly drank the entire thing before setting it back down. 

Figuring he couldn’t hide in his room for any longer, Sokka sighed, pocketed his phone, and made his way out of his room. 

Just as he expected, Zuko was there in his kitchen. He was standing in front of the stove, stirring something in a pot with a wooden spoon. He glanced up when Sokka came in, and lifted his free hand to wave. 

“Feeling better?” He asked. 

“Um, I feel less loopy than I did earlier,” he said, walking over to the couch and falling onto it in a heap. “Sorry about that, by the way. I know I, uh, said some weird things.” 

To Sokka’s surprise, Zuko grinned at him. “Don’t worry about it. I thought it was cute.” 

Great. Of course he called him cute. That was just what Sokka needed right now. At least his face was already hot from whatever sickness he had so Zuko couldn’t tell he was blushing. 

“Uh, so what are you making?” Sokka asked, wanting to change the subject. 

“Oh,” Zuko blinked and glanced back down at the pot, reaching over to turn the heat off. “It’s jook. It’s another thing my uncle makes for me when I’m sick.” 

Sokka had tried jook before at restaurants. There was one place that served it with chicken and ginger that Katara really liked, but Sokka had never been a huge fan of the stuff. However, he’d heard that just plain jook was a pretty good thing to eat when you were sick, and right now something bland like that sounded like the only thing he could stomach right now. 

Zuko ladled some jook into a bowl, and brought it over to the couch to hand to Sokka. Then, he picked up the mug of tea Sokka had drank out of before he’d taken his nap, and took it back to the sink where he rinsed it out. Then, he picked up a kettle on the stove and poured more tea into the mug, and set it back on the coffee table in front of Sokka. 

He was being so sweet to Sokka. Cooking for him, making him tea, staying here while he napped for god knows how long just because Sokka asked him to. How on earth did Sokka ever think he was an asshole? 

“Thank you,” Sokka said, looking at the bowl on his lap. 

“It’s fine,” Zuko replied, straightening back up to put the lid on the pot. 

“No, seriously, thank you,” Sokka repeated, looking up at Zuko. “You’ve been so nice to me today. It means a lot.” 

Zuko looked a bit surprised at the thanks, and shrugged before quickly turning to look at the stove. “You’re welcome. It’s not a big deal though, I promise. Besides, I’m sure you’d do the same for me.” 

A warm smile spread across Sokka’s face. 

“Yeah, I would,” he said quietly, taking a bite of jook. 

There was a moment of silence between them. It hung in the air, and it wasn’t uncomfortable. Sokka ate his food while sipping at his tea, and Zuko sat next to him, nursing his own tea. The two were just enjoying spending time in each other’s company. Honestly, it reminded Sokka of all the times he and Blue had just sat in vc’s together with the rhythm bot listening to music with their mics muted. 

It was really nice. 

Once Sokka finished his bowl, he set it on the coffee table and leaned back, glancing over at Zuko. 

“So, uh…I feel a bit better than I did earlier. You don’t have to stay here and take care of me anymore,” Sokka said awkwardly. 

Looking over, Zuko’s own eyes widened. “Oh…yeah, shit, you probably want some time alone to rest,” Zuko replied, pushing to his feet and rushing over to the kitchen to gather his things. 

“Wait,” Sokka then said, straightening up. “You don’t have to leave if you don’t want to, I don’t want it to sound like that! I’m fine with you being here—honestly, it’s a lot nicer than just sitting around alone and bored. But you probably have stuff to do and I don’t want you to feel obligated to stick around.” 

Zuko paused where he was putting the lids back on his jars of herbs, and glanced back at Sokka. “I don’t feel obligated. I really don’t have anything else to do today, so I, uh, wouldn’t mind hanging out some more.” 

God, they were so awkward. 

“Do you wanna watch a movie?” Sokka asked, gesturing to the tv. 

“Sure,” Zuko shrugs, setting his stuff down to rejoin Sokka on the couch. “What are you thinking?” 

After scrolling through several streaming services, eventually the two decide on Detective Pikachu. Both of them have already seen it before, but you get cute pokemon in it so of course that’s not an issue. 

Sokka kept sipping at the tea as the movie played out. He squealed every time Pikachu is shown on screen, they both made jokes about how relatable psyduck is, and when the bulbasaurs showed up Sokka felt like he was going to pass out from how much serotonin his brain was making. Why was bulbasaur the absolute cutest thing he’s ever seen? And why was Mr. Mime the most terrifying abomination CGI has ever created? And how do they both exist in the same movie? 

At one point, Sokka mentioned the theory about how Mr. Mime definitely got with Ash’s mom at some point in the original pokemon series, and Zuko nearly choked on his tea, demanding to know where the hell he thought of that from. This prompted Sokka to look up that picture of Mr. Mime with his hand on Ash’s mom’s thigh, and Zuko turned a bit green in the face. 

“You’ve just ruined Mr. Mime for me now,” Zuko deadpanned, turning away from the phone. 

“Did you ever _like_ Mr. Mime?” Sokka asked, refusing to believe anyone actually thought Mr. Mime was a cute pokemon. 

“Maybe I did, so what?” Zuko challenged, raising an eyebrow. 

Sokka blinked. “There was no way he was on your pokemon team when you played as a kid.” 

“He was,” Zuko shot back, nodding. “I liked psychic pokemon.” 

“But look at that thing!” Sokka yelled, gesturing to the paused movie where Pikachu was interrogating Mr. Mime. “How is that cute?!” 

Zuko glanced at the screen and winced. “Okay, I’ll admit, CGI Mr. Mime creeps me out.” 

“As he should,” Sokka huffed. Suddenly, a thought occurred to him. “Wait, have you ever tattooed a pokemon onto someone?” 

“Oh yeah, plenty.” 

“Which ones?” Sokka asked. 

Furrowing his brows, Zuko brought a hand up to tap at his chin while he thought. “Hm… I’ve done a lot of eevee’s and eeveelutions. Also a few pikachus and, like, two magikarp. Oh, and recently I’ve been doing some mimikyu of course,” Zuko said. 

“Yeah, I’m not surprised. Those are the ones I expected honestly,” Sokka said, leaning back on the couch. “Do you have any pokemon tattoos?” 

Zuko shook his head. “Nah, not really my personal style for tattoos.” 

“Fair enough.” Sokka glanced at Zuko, looking at the dragon on his left arm, and followed it up to where the tail disappeared under his shirt. “How many tattoos do you have?” Sokka then asked. “I know you have the ones on your arms, and a few on your chest, but is that it?” 

“You wanna see?” Zuko asked, smirking at Sokka. 

Sokka nodded. Zuko reached down to grab the hem of his shirt, and suddenly, Sokka realized what a terrible idea it was to agree to that because Zuko was _taking his shirt off_. 

Tossing his shirt to the side, Zuko shifted to face Sokka. Now, Sokka had seen Zuko shirtless when they were getting ready for the gala a few weeks before, but he hadn’t looked that hard because he didn’t want to seem like he was staring. This time though, he had full permission to stare. 

And stare he did. 

There were several tattoos on his chest. There was the pair of swords Sokka had noticed the night of the gala, clashing right over his sternum. Then, there were several smaller ones scattered around. A large sun sat on the upper right side of his chest, and on the left side of his chest, right above his heart sat a cup of steaming tea. On the lower half of his chest, almost on his ribs was a book, then a bit below that there was a throwing knife. Then, lastly, on the opposite side of his lower chest was what looked like… a baby duck with a turtle shell on its back? 

“Wow… you have a lot,” Sokka muttered, staring at all the designs in awe. 

“Not as many as most tattoo artists have. I plan on getting more as time goes on,” Zuko said, grinning at Sokka’s expression. 

“Can I ask why you have a duck with a turtle shell?” Sokka asked, peering at the dainty design. If he had to guess, he’d say that was Ty Lee’s art style. 

Zuko snorted. “Oh, yeah. One time me, Mai, and Ty Lee were hanging out and we got stoned, and I don’t know how I thought of this but I saw a picture of a baby duck when I was scrolling on my phone, and a few posts later I saw a turtle. And my stoned brain was like, ‘what if we combined a duck and a turtle, that would be cute as fuck’. So then I asked Ty Lee to tattoo that on me and she did.” 

Sokka blinked. “I can see why I’m the smart one of the two of us,” he deadpanned. 

“Hey!” Zuko protested. “I’m right though. It’s cute, isn’t it?” 

Sokka looked at the turtle duck again. He had to admit, it _was_ kinda adorable. 

“...yes. It’s very cute,” he admitted reluctantly. Sokka then let his gaze roam over the other tattoos. “Why do you have a throwing knife?” 

“That’s for Mai,” Zuko said, looking at the knife near his ribs. “She’s really good at throwing knives. Took classes and everything.” 

“Mai…can throw knives? God, as if I needed any more reason to be scared of her,” Sokka muttered, shaking his head. 

“Oh yeah, she’s terrifying. Don’t get on her bad side,” Zuko warned. 

“Believe me, I have no intentions of doing that,” Sokka replied. 

Sokka then went back to looking at all of Zuko’s tattoos. Most of the others seemed decently self-explanatory. However, Sokka found his gaze being pulled back to Zuko’s right arm, the one covered with flowers. He’d never looked very closely at his right arm, having always been more focused with the dragon on his left arm. But now, Sokka realized he’d never seen the type of flowers Zuko had before. 

“The flowers, what are those?” Sokka asked, pointing to his arm. 

Zuko followed Sokka’s pointing, and his smile faded. “Oh. Those are called spider lilies. They’re mostly seen in Japan, and they’re a pretty popular funeral flower.” 

“Funeral flowers?” Sokka asked, frowning. 

“Yeah, uh, you know how I told you my mom died when I was a kid?” Zuko asked, and Sokka nodded. “She was Japanese, actually. She grew up in Kyoto and met my dad when he was studying abroad over there for college. I’ve never gotten to visit my grandparents in Japan, or really go there at all. I think my dad wanted us to pretend our mom’s side of the family never existed, especially after she died. So I got these as a way to remember her.” 

“That’s…really sweet,” Sokka said, staring at the delicate flower petals decorating Zuko’s arm. “Do you ever plan on going to Japan?” 

“I hope so. But I need to learn Japanese first, because if I go I want to see if I can find my grandparents,” Zuko explained, absently running his fingers over the flowers. 

“I mean, if you ever want lessons I’m sure Suki could teach you,” Sokka shrugged. 

Zuko’s head whipped up. “Suki knows Japanese?” 

“Dude, she’s literally from Tokyo. She came to Hong Kong for university,” Sokka explained. “I’m sure she’d love to teach you some Japanese.” 

“If you think it wouldn’t bug her, I’ll ask her about it,” Zuko said, nodding to himself. 

Sokka smiled at this. He liked the idea of Zuko getting more integrated with his friend group. The dim sum night had gone really well, but since then, Zuko had still been shy around most of his friends (save for Aang of course). Hopefully with time, Zuko would be as comfortable with the rest of them as he was with Sokka. 

Suddenly, Zuko’s eyes lit up. 

“Oh yeah, I have one more tattoo,” he said. He turned around so his back was to Sokka, which revealed the outline of a tree that covered the upper half of his spine. The tree was bushy with large leaves and soft white flowers. The linework was so delicate, Sokka was sure Ty Lee had done this tattoo for Zuko as well. 

“It’s a jasmine tree,” Zuko explained, craning his neck so he could kind of see Sokka over his shoulder. “Since jasmine tea is my favorite, and my Uncle makes it for me a lot, and just…jasmine is important to me, I guess.” 

“I think this might be my favorite of your tattoos,” Sokka said quietly. 

It was a beautiful tattoo. Every flower looked like it could be knocked away with a small breeze, as if it wasn’t just stationary ink on skin. Without thinking, Sokka found himself reaching forward, and his fingers began to trace the lines on Zuko’s skin. 

Zuko stiffened, but after a few moments, his shoulders relaxed. Sokka shifted closer, mesmerized by the small details on every branch of the tree, and awed by the way the dark ink stood out so starkly against Zuko’s pale skin. 

Now that he was closer though, Sokka noticed some other things. Not parts of the tattoos, but other marks on Zuko’s back. Faint red and white blotches, scattered around almost randomly, but concentrated on the upper left side of his back. His fingers moved away from the tattoo and to the marks, and when his fingers grazed the ridges, he realized they were scars. 

“Zuko, what are these from?” Sokka asked, his voice low. 

Zuko’s breathing hitched, but he didn’t move away from Sokka. “Just scars. Like the one on my face,” he said quietly. 

Sokka moved his hand up. He trailed it over Zuko’s shoulder and up to the left side of his face, where his fingers delicately brushed the scarred skin there. He felt Zuko shiver, and his own heart started to pound. 

Then, Zuko moved. He turned around so he was facing Sokka, and Sokka was close enough to be practically sitting on his lap. He kept his hand on the scarred side of Zuko’s face, while one of Zuko’s hands moved to rest on Sokka’s thigh. 

“Was it an accident?” Sokka asked. 

There was a moment where Sokka saw something conflicted flash across Zuko’s face. He hesitated, as if he was debating telling Sokka the truth or not. 

Then, he sighed. 

“Not exactly,” Zuko answered, looking nervous. 

Sokka’s jaw clenched. Someone did this to him. And judging by the way Zuko had talked about his family in the past, he had a feeling he knew exactly who it was. He debated saying _I’m sorry_ , but that felt almost patronizing. It seemed like Zuko didn’t want to delve into detail about what had happened, and Sokka didn’t need to know that. 

So instead, he settled for, 

“Well, hey, they go well with your tattoos,” he joked, still tracing his fingers along the side of Zuko’s face. 

A relieved look washed over Zuko, and he cracked a small grin. “You think?” 

“For sure,” Sokka said. 

Spreading out his hand now, he cupped the side of Zuko’s face, and Zuko leaned into the touch. Then, Zuko’s hand moved up from its place on Sokka’s thigh, and rested on his waist. 

Sokka felt like he was on fire everywhere Zuko was touching him. Zuko was so warm, the energy from his skin was like an electric current. It was intoxicating. 

He wasn’t sure which one of them leaned in first. But soon, Zuko’s lips were on his, and Sokka was soaring. 

The electric current ran through Sokka, sending his heart into palpitations as he smiled into the kiss. This was exactly what he had been thinking about for weeks now, and it felt even better than he had imagined it. Like his skin, Zuko’s lips were burning hot. It was as if Zuko had his own personal sun inside of him, and Sokka was pulled to the warmth. 

Sokka shifted so he could lean in closer, when suddenly the warmth disappeared, and Zuko pulled back. 

“Shit, I’m sorry,” Zuko muttered, shaking his head as he dropped the hand off of Sokka’s waist. “I shouldn’t have done that.” 

“What do you mean? I was kissing you back,” Sokka frowned. 

Zuko sighed. “I know, and it…god I’ve been wanting to do that for weeks now but I just,” he paused, gnawing at his lip. “I can’t, Sokka. At least not right now. I’m sorry.” 

And just like that, the euphoria that had been bubbling up inside of Sokka dissipated, leaving him feeling ice cold. 

“Why not?” Sokka asked, acid crawling up the back of his throat. 

“It’s just…” Zuko scratched the back of his neck, shifting so Sokka was no longer right in front of him. “God, this is going to sound terrible since I kissed you, but there’s someone else.” 

It was like a punch to the chest that blew all of the breath right out of Sokka’s lungs. 

“Who?” He asked in a small voice. 

Zuko clenched his jaw. “We’re not…dating or anything, but I think I mentioned my, uh, internet friend one time? It’s going to sound stupid considering we’ve never even met in person, but I’ve liked him for…well, a really long time. And I really like you too, but I haven’t gotten to talk to him about my feelings yet and I feel like I should work all that out with him first instead of just moving things forward with you, if that makes sense.” 

And suddenly, the air was back in Sokka’s lungs, and he wanted to slam his head into a wall. 

It was Boomerang. Zuko didn’t want to kiss Sokka because he’d liked Boomerang first. Sokka was literally cock-blocking himself. 

He debated telling Zuko right then and there. But he knew how that would look. He’d just kissed Zuko, got rejected, and then suddenly announces that he’s the internet guy Zuko rejected him for? It would make him look pathetic and desperate, and even if he managed to convince Zuko he wasn’t lying, the whole situation was so awkward it would definitely ruin things. 

No. He couldn’t do it right now. 

So instead, Sokka put on his best sympathetic face, and tried not to make his frustration obvious. 

“It’s okay, I get it,” he said, internally cursing himself for not just telling Zuko earlier. “You deserve your shot with this guy first. Though he better be pretty damn good-looking if you’re passing me up for him,” he joked, winking at Zuko. “And hey, if things don’t work out with him, I’ll still be here.” 

At this, Zuko let out a very relieved laugh. 

“You’re gonna hate me, but I don’t even know what he looks like,” Zuko said, smiling sheepishly at Sokka. 

“WOW!” Sokka yelled, pretending to be offended. “I get passed up for a dude you’ve never even seen? Damn, he must be pretty great.” 

Zuko smiled fondly. “Yeah, he is.” 

A beat of silence passed between the two. Then, Zuko seemed to realize he still had no shirt on, and he quickly picked it up off the floor and pulled it over his head. 

“Um, I should probably go now though, shouldn’t I?” Zuko then asked, looking awkwardly at Sokka. 

Yes. Sokka needed time to plan how he was going to fix this giant mess he’d gotten himself into. 

“Yeah, it’s probably for the best,” Sokka nodded. “Like, we’re totally cool, don’t worry. But just, uh-” 

“I get it, don’t worry,” Zuko reassured, pushing to his feet. 

A few minutes later, Zuko was all packed up and standing at the front door. He’d put the leftover jook in a tupperware container for Sokka, and had also brewed another pot of tea for Sokka to continue drinking into the night. It was still so hard for Sokka not to scream, ‘I’M BOOMERANG’ to his face right then and there, so he was hoping Zuko would get out the door as quickly as possible. 

As Zuko opened the front door, he hesitated. 

“Thank you, Sokka. For being, uh, so understanding. I know that was kind of a dick move on my part,” Zuko said, pushing his hair back with his hand. 

Sokka shrugged. “Don’t worry, I get it, I promise. But if that guy turns out to be some weird old man or something, you know I’ll be right here.” 

Zuko smiled at him, and Sokka felt butterflies swell in his chest. 

“You’re really amazing. I hope you know that,” Zuko then told him softly. 

Sokka’s heart leapt up into his throat as his face burnt bright red. Why the hell did Zuko have to be so sweet? He had no idea how to respond to that, but thankfully Zuko continued talking before he had to. 

“Um, we’re still friends, right?” Zuko then asked, looking at the ground. 

“Dude, of course we are!” Sokka exclaimed. “I’m still your best bud, and you better keep me updated on this boy of yours.” 

Zuko laughed, obviously relieved. “Thank you.” 

“Of course. Now get out of here so I can go pop more cold medication.” Suddenly, Sokka had a realization, and his eyes widened. “Oh, you’re definitely gonna get sick now by the way.” 

Shrugging, Zuko walked out the door. “I’ll be expecting you to come over and make me tea and jook then,” he teased. 

Sokka flipped him off, and Zuko waved as he let the door slam shut. 

He was alone.

Immediately, Sokka fell against the shut door and slid down to the ground. Burying his face in his hands, he groaned. 

“I’m such an idiot,” he mumbled in between his fingers. 

He had to come up with a way to resolve this. Clearly, he had to tell Zuko he was Boomerang. But how was he going to do that and not look like a complete asshole, while still making it obvious he was the real Boomerang? 

Then, the lightbulb of an idea went off. Lifting his face out of his hands, he grinned and pulled his phone out of his pocket, tapping on his dms with Blue. 

**boomeranguy15:** hey, so I know this is out of the blue, but do you wanna try meeting up again? 

Sokka didn’t even have to wait a full minute for a reply. 

**thebluespirit:** I would love that

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sokka cock-blocked himself while Zuko saw a pretty boy and kissed him even though he was very sick they're both idiots your honor
> 
> I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! It was so much fun to write, especially describing Zuko's tattoos and also the part about them kissing :)))
> 
> let me know what you thought in the comments!
> 
> hmu on my tumblr @thatsnotrelevant


	7. a white chrysanthemum

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time to come clean

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HEY GUYS IT'S FINALLY HERE!!! 
> 
> Thank you all so much for all the love and support you've shown for this fic, I'm really glad you guys enjoyed it as much as you did. I had such a fun time writing this and I hope you like how things end up!
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

This was it. It was the big day. This was the day Boomerang and Blue were going to meet in person (again). 

It had been about a week since he and Zuko kissed. They had set up the soonest meeting date that worked for the both of them, and while it frustrated Sokka to wait so long, now that the day was here, Sokka was dreading it. 

From the minute Sokka had woken up, he’d felt like he was vibrating with anxiety. Static buzzed around his chest, and his heart began to pound every time he remembered what was happening today. Thankfully, he had another morning shift, so he could at least lose himself in the opening process that was so comfortingly familiar to him. 

The motions were ingrained into his muscle memory at this point. Unlock the shop. Pull two shots for a honey almond milk latte. Sip and check his phone while he waited for Suki to show up. 

Sure enough, like clockwork, Sokka got a text right as the golden light of the sun started to spill into the shop. 

**thebluespirit:** Good morning

 **boomeranguy15:** mornin

 **thebluespirit:** Morning shift again? 

**boomeranguy15:** yee

 **thebluespirit:** We still on for 1:00?

 **boomeranguy15:** hell yeah we are

 **boomeranguy15:** I promise I won’t bail this time lmao

 **thebluespirit:** Ha good to know

 **thebluespirit:** I’ll let you get back to work now

 **thebluespirit:** But I’m excited for today

 **boomeranguy15:** I am too :)

 **boomeranguy15:** <333

 **thebluespirit:** <3

Putting his phone down, Sokka took another long sip of his latte. He wasn’t lying. He was excited at the possibility that his afternoon meeting with Blue was going to end with him and Zuko finally going on a proper date, but he was also nervous as hell. There were so many ways this could go wrong. There were so many ways Zuko could misread the revelation, or think that Sokka was just playing a prank on him. 

All Sokka could do though was hope Zuko gave him time to explain himself before storming off. If he didn’t, Sokka very well could lose his best friend today. 

The door chimed as Suki shuffled inside. She yawned loudly as the door shut behind her, but grinned when she spotted Sokka behind the counter. 

“Hey there,” she greeted, resting her elbows on the counter and eagerly grabbing the offered double shot latte Sokka pushed towards her. “How are you feeling about today?” 

“Uh, a bit like I’m going to throw up,” Sokka admitted, looking into his cup. “I have no idea how he’s going to react when he finds out it’s me.” 

A frown knitted itself between Suki’s brows, and she reached out to rest her hand on his arm. “Hey, I get it. I’d be nervous too if I were you. But Zuko’s your friend. He’s not going to just storm off without listening to you, I’m sure of it.” 

“I keep telling myself that, but I’m just not sure,” Sokka sighed. “I know I have to do it. I’m just pissed at myself for letting it get so complicated in the first place.” 

“It was kinda stupid for you to let it go on as long as you did. But late is better than never,” Suki reassured him, sipping at her drink. “If by some miniscule chance things don’t go well, you can come over to my place and we can watch Barbie movies while playing a drinking game.” 

Sokka snorted. “Take a shot every time there’s a romance subplot between two animals?” 

“Take _two_ shots,” Suki corrects, smirking at him. “But I bet that you’re gonna end up spending the night making out with Zuko instead of watching American kids movies with me.” 

Sokka grinned into his latte. “Thanks Suki.” 

Suki punched him lightly in the arm, downing the rest of her coffee in one gulp. “Of course. Now stop moping and take the chairs off the tables. We’re about to open.” 

Checking the time on his phone, Sokka’s eyes widened when he realized Suki was right—they only had a few minutes till opening. Taking one last swig of coffee, he pocketed his phone and ran to throw his apron over his head. 

Thankfully, the morning rush drowned out all of Sokka’s worries as he was buried in work. The choreographed dance he and Suki had perfected over the months played itself out once more, the two seamlessly switching between making the drinks and manning the register. Hours passed like minutes, and it wasn’t until long after the sun had fully risen that Sokka finally had a moment to breathe. 

It was nearing the end of his shift. Suki was taking the free moment to wipe down the counters, and Sokka felt a buzz from his phone. Like clockwork, it was Ty Lee texting him with her, Zuko, and Mai’s drink orders. 

And just like that, seeing Ty Lee mention Zuko’s name brought all of Sokka’s anxieties rushing back. He was going to reveal to Zuko that he was Boomerang today, but he was going to have to deliver him tea and act like everything was normal because Zuko wouldn’t know why Sokka was nervous. 

Taking a breath to steady himself, Sokka replied to Ty Lee with a thumbs up and got to making the drinks. Suki took care of Ty Lee’s iced mocha, while Sokka brewed Zuko’s tea and poured Mai’s cold brew. Then, with a drink carrier in hand, Sokka headed out of the cafe and to the tattoo parlor. 

Like always, Sokka was greeted by the sound of buzzing needles and punk rock music playing overhead. Ty Lee was working on a client, while Mai and Zuko were chatting near Zuko’s chair. The door chime signaled Sokka’s arrival, and when Zuko spotted Sokka, his eyes widened and he waved Sokka over. 

Sokka placed Ty Lee’s drink down on her table first, where she grinned at him in greeting but focused on her work. Then, Sokka went over to Mai and Zuko, handing them their respective drinks. 

“Hey guys!” Sokka greeted, trying to ignore the way his heart flipped in his chest just seeing Zuko in front of him. 

“Hey Sokka,” Zuko said, wrapping his hands around his cup. “How’s the rush been?” 

“Oh, uh, not too bad. What about you guys? Have you had any clients so far?” Sokka asked, ignoring the pounding in his chest. 

“Zuko had a client earlier, but since then my whole morning has just been listening to him whine about his boy problems,” Mai explained, taking a sip of her own drink. 

Beside her, Zuko frowned. “Shut up, Mai,” he muttered. 

Clenching his jaw, Sokka tried to feign surprise. “Oh? What’s up?” 

“He’s meeting his online boyfriend today,” Mai said, leaning against Zuko’s shoulder. 

“He’s not my boyfriend,” Zuko muttered, his cheeks blooming bright red. 

“But you want him to be,” Mai shot back. 

Zuko huffed, but didn’t rebuke the statement. Instead, he just set his drink down and folded his arms over his chest. “It’s, uh, the guy I told you about before, Sokka. We finally set up a time to meet.” 

Again, Sokka had to feign surprise. He widened his eyes, hoping he was convincing enough. 

“Oh, really? That’s awesome,” he exclaimed. “I hope it goes well for you!” 

Mai narrowed her eyes at Sokka, but Zuko didn’t seem to notice anything amiss. 

“I hope so too. I’m honestly kinda nervous,” Zuko admitted, staring at his hands. 

“Why are you nervous?” Sokka asked. 

Zuko shrugged. “I dunno. I guess I’m just worried he’ll be…disappointed, I guess?” 

Sokka blinked. He was worried that _Boomerang_ would be disappointed in _him?_

“Are you kidding? Why on earth would he be disappointed in you?” Sokka asked. “You’re literally, like, one of the best people I know. You’re funny, creative, kind, and a whole bunch of other great things. If he’s disappointed in you, then he never deserved you in the first place.” 

Zuko blinked, red coloring his cheeks. “Kind, huh? That’s a new one,” he muttered. Then, he looked up at Sokka, a small smile spreading across his face. “Thank you. That really means a lot.” 

God, it was so hard for Sokka not to lean forward and kiss him right there. He only had to wait a few more hours, but it felt like torture standing here talking to Zuko. 

“Yeah, uh, of course!” Sokka replied, deciding he needed to get out of here as soon as possible before he slipped up. “Um, I should be heading back to the coffee shop before Suki gets pissed. Let me know how things go!” Sokka said. And without waiting for Zuko to reply, Sokka rushed out of the door, burying his face in his hands as soon as he was outside the tattoo parlor. 

When he came back into the coffee shop with a bright red face, Suki gave him a knowing smirk. Then, he picked up where he left off, starting on the next round of drinks and losing himself to the routine once more. 

The shift continued to fly by, and before Sokka knew it, Aang was entering the shop to take over. 

“Sokka!” Aang exclaimed as he ran through the door. “It’s the big day, isn’t it?!” 

“Shush! Not so loud!” Sokka hissed, glancing at the other patrons. None of them were paying attention to the two baristas, but he was still paranoid. “Yes, it is the day.”

“I’m so excited for you! It’s gonna go great, I’m sure of it,” Aang said, beaming at him. “Where are you meeting him?” 

“Nan Lian Garden.” 

“Oooo, that’s such a pretty place! That’s so awesome for you guys,” Aang continued. Suddenly though, he frowned. “Wait, what time do you need to be there?” 

“At 1:00,” Sokka answered. 

Aang’s eyes widened. “Sokka, it’s almost 12:30, you need to leave now!” 

“Shit, seriously?!” Sokka hadn’t even been checking the time, he’d gotten so caught up in work. Throwing his apron at Aang’s face, Sokka grabbed his sweatshirt from under the counter and threw it over his head. Then, he was about to rush out the door, when Suki yanked him back by the hoodie. 

“Not so fast,” she said, dragging him backwards. “Here, take this.” She shoved an iced drink in his hands. “Sip on this while you walk. It’ll calm your nerves.” 

Glancing at the cup, Sokka saw it was some kind of tea, and grinned at Suki. “Thanks.” 

“Of course. Now go get em, bud,” she said, patting his shoulder. 

Waving goodbye at Aang and Suki, Sokka headed out the door, heart pounding in his chest. He had to take the train to get to Nan Lian from here. As usual, the sidewalks were crowded with people going throughout their day. The sound of cars honking and voices murmuring filled the air, and Sokka pushed along with the rest like a school of fish, hardly glancing up as he kept his eyes on his phone. 

There wasn’t any reason for Blue to text him right now. They both knew where and when to meet. Sokka just wanted to keep an eye out, to make sure he didn’t miss a message about Zuko being late. 

Maybe he was paranoid that Zuko would cancel. That would just cause a whole host of other problems for him. 

He didn’t get any texts from Blue though. On the way, Sokka stopped by a flower shop, grabbing a white chrysanthemum just like last time. They had agreed to use the flowers as the identification for each other once more, and it would also help avoid any confusion when Zuko saw Sokka there. The last thing he’d want Zuko to think was that Sokka was following him to stalk his date or whatever. 

One train ride later, Sokka was outside the entrance to the Nan Lian Garden. It was a very pretty park in Hong Kong, with many stone-lined paths to walk around while viewing all the carefully arranged flora, and a temple in the center of the park. They’d agreed to meet in front of the small bridge that led to the temple, which was very easy to spot. 

As Sokka walked down the path towards the front of the temple, his heart picked up speed once more. The chrysanthemum he had in his sweatshirt pocket felt like it was burning a hole through the fabric, and in that moment, he wanted nothing more than to turn around and pretend like this never happened. 

But then he saw Zuko, and his resolve returned full force. 

Zuko was standing in front of the temple already, phone in one hand, and red chrysanthemum in the other. He was pacing back and forth, eyes glued to his phone screen. While Sokka knew he was scared out of his mind, he knew that Zuko was feeling a whole other kind of nervousness. He was afraid that Boomerang was going to be disappointed in him, and if Sokka left now, that was only going to convince him further of that. 

No. Zuko deserved to know the truth. Whatever might happen, Sokka owed him that much. 

So, taking a shaky breath, Sokka approached Zuko. 

When Zuko heard the footsteps, his eyes widened and he looked up, obviously prepared to see the face of a stranger. But when his eyes met Sokka’s, he frowned. 

“Sokka? What are you doing here?” He asked. “I’m, uh, supposed to meet my friend right now so- wait, how did you even know I was here?” 

“Uh…” And just like that, all of the words Sokka had prepared for this moment flew out of his mind. He was frozen like a deer in headlights, heart pounding in his ears as he tried to figure out what the hell he was supposed to say to start explaining. “Um, well you see…it’s uh…” Sighing, Sokka shook his head, figuring he might as well just get it out. 

Reaching into his sweatshirt pocket, Sokka pulled out the white flower to match Zuko’s red one, and held it up to show Zuko. 

Zuko stared at the flower, unblinking for a moment. He glanced to his own flower, and then back at Sokka’s, and then moved his eyes back to Sokka’s face. 

“Wh- how did you-” Zuko was confused, stammering to try and talk as he kept glancing between Sokka and the flower. Suddenly though, his eyes widened, and his mouth dropped open. 

“Hey Blue,” Sokka said softly. 

“It’s you?” Zuko asked, staring at him in shock. 

“Yeah, I’m Boomerang,” Sokka admitted, willing himself not to look down at the ground. 

Zuko frowned in confusion again. “Wait, so that day we were supposed to meet up at the Meet Fresh-” 

“That was the day I found out who you were, yeah,” Sokka said, starting to remember what he had planned to say. “I should’ve come clean then, but I was honestly a little horrified with myself. The person who I considered my best friend hated me, because I’d been an asshole to him over a stupid assumption. So I didn’t want to tell you it was me, because I was just…scared that you’d think I’d been fucking with you the whole time or something.” 

“And then you apologized to me and we became friends,” Zuko said, nodding to himself. “It makes sense, I just…” he trailed off, looking at the ground and folding his arms over his chest. He started pacing again, and Sokka winced. 

“You’re pissed at me. I get it. I’d be pissed at me too,” Sokka said, playing with the flower in his hands. 

“What?” Zuko whipped his head back up to look at Sokka. “No, I’m not pissed at all.” 

“You’re not?” 

“No, I get why you did what you did and it’s fine, it’s…it’s just like-” Zuko cut himself off, eyes falling to the ground again as he buried his face in his hands. He groaned loudly, and dragged his hands down his face. “I don’t understand how this can be real right now.” 

Now it was Sokka’s turn to look confused. “What do you mean? Are…you disappointed? That it’s me?” He asked in a small voice. 

At this, Zuko straightened up like he’d been shocked, and shook his head. 

“No, that’s not it at all. It’s the opposite actually.” Folding his arms over his chest again, Zuko finally looked back up at Sokka, and Sokka noticed his cheeks were bright red. “I wanted it to be you _so badly_. I knew it didn’t make sense, and that there was no way you were the same person, but I kept thinking in my head maybe I’d get lucky just this once. But that doesn’t happen to me. I’m never allowed to just get everything I want. So I just don’t understand how this can be real. I keep thinking I’m going to wake up from a dream.” 

Suddenly, Sokka’s heart stopped pounding. Zuko wasn’t upset at him. Zuko didn’t hate him. Zuko had _wanted_ it to be him. 

Stepping forward, Sokka reached up to tug at Zuko’s wrists. Zuko let his folded arms drop without any resistance, and butterflies started fluttering in Sokka’s stomach as he laced their fingers together. 

“This isn’t a dream, Zuko,” Sokka said softly. 

“This isn’t a dream,” Zuko repeated, staring at their hands. Slowly, a smile spread across Zuko’s face. “So does that mean we can try that kiss again?” 

Sokka beamed. “God, I was hoping you’d ask that.” 

And just like that, Zuko stepped forward and kissed Sokka, and Sokka felt like his chest was going to burst. Sokka smiled into the kiss, wrapping his arms around Zuko’s waist. It was exactly what he had been waiting for. All of his worries were gone, and he was able to lose himself in Zuko’s warmth. 

It would’ve been movie perfect, if they weren’t interrupted by some loud cheering. 

Pulling apart, Sokka whipped his head around to see two people standing in the bushes a few feet away, clapping loudly for them. 

“Toph?” Sokka asked. 

“UNCLE?!” Zuko exclaimed behind him. 

There was some awkward laughter as Toph and Iroh clambered out of the bushes together. Toph was beaming, while Iroh at least had the decency to look a bit embarrassed. 

“God, FINALLY! It’s about time you two stopped being idiots, I swear we were waiting in those bushes for-” 

“Let’s go, Toph,” Iroh quickly cut her off, grabbing her arm to pull her away. “Sorry nephew! I just wanted to make sure everything went alright. We’ll leave you alone now.” 

“Uncle you can’t just spy on me like that!” Zuko complained, face flaring bright red. 

“I know! I’m sorry! Just go back to what you two were doing, we won’t bother you anymore,” Iroh said, shooing the two of them with a wave. He started dragging Toph away, ignoring all of her loud protests, while Zuko and Sokka watched with blank stares. 

Once they had disappeared from the garden, Sokka and Zuko shared a look of confusion. 

“Why does my Uncle know Toph?” Zuko asked. 

“I have no idea,” Sokka replied. 

There was a beat of silence between them. 

“So, are we, like, dating now?” Sokka asked. 

“I hope so,” Zuko replied. 

Sokka grinned and took Zuko’s hand in his. “Then let’s go out to eat. I think I owe you some Meet Fresh.” 

Leaning over, Zuko pressed a quick kiss to Sokka’s cheek. “Sounds perfect to me.” 

Maybe Sokka was blushing the entire time as they ate their grass jelly, but he didn’t care. And if Zuko noticed, he was smiling too much to say anything.

“Do you trust me?” Zuko asked.

Sokka shivered at the whisper, and nodded. 

“Yeah, I trust you,” he replied in an equally low voice. 

“Good.” 

Sokka squeezed his eyes shut as the buzzing of a tattoo gun filled the air. 

While Sokka had always been interested in tattoos in the past, he had never actually gotten one before, as he’d always been afraid of the pain. However, after months of convincing from his tattoo artist boyfriend, he’d finally agreed to let Zuko give him one. 

“Don’t worry, Sokka! It doesn’t hurt that much!” Aang reassured him from where he was sitting next to Sokka. 

Sokka opened his mouth to reply, when Zuko pressed the needle into his skin, and he fell dead silent. He clenched his jaw, trying not to stiffen up as the pain raced through him. 

“Annnnnnd he’s trying not to scream,” Suki teased, smirking at him. 

The gun went silent, and Zuko straightened up. “Are you okay?” He asked, looking legitimately worried. 

Sokka glanced down at his arm, noticing there was only a tiny line there. Zuko had told him this tattoo would take at least an hour and a half. Shit. 

“I’m okay!” Sokka said. 

“You sure?” Zuko asked, raising an eyebrow. 

“Please just do it as quickly as you can.” 

Snorting, Zuko nodded and went back to tattooing. Suki reached over to take Sokka’s hand, only to pull back after he nearly crushed her fingers with his grip. 

Okay, Sokka had way more respect for Zuko and Ty Lee now that he knew what getting a tattoo felt like. He had no idea how the two of them had managed to go through this so many times. Throughout the process, Aang and Suki kept talking to him, reassuring him that he was doing great (well, Aang was doing the reassuring, Suki was teasing him relentlessly). 

Finally though, the gun lifted for the last time, and Zuko gave him a hopeful look. 

“What do you think?” He asked. 

When Sokka looked at his arm, a wide grin spread across his face. The iceberg was gorgeous, with the upper half sticking out of the ‘water’ Zuko had drawn, all bright and covered in sharp, geometric lines. The half below the water looked like some kind of dark crystal, with gradual dot shading stretching across the ice surface with perfect precision. 

“It’s perfect, holy shit,” Sokka said, eyes wide with awe. He glanced up to Zuko and surged forward to kiss him, thrilled with how it had turned out. 

“Whoa!” Zuko pulled back quickly. “Hang on, let me wrap it up and then you can kiss me.” 

A few minutes later, the tattoo was covered in plastic wrap, and Zuko was cleaning up his workspace. Suki and Aang were waiting by the door, while Ty Lee and Mai darted around the shop going through last minute closing procedures. 

“You guys ready to go yet?” Suki asked. 

“Almost!” Ty Lee, Mai, and Zuko all shouted back at once. 

Laughing to himself, Sokka leaned against Zuko’s client chair, watching as he finished putting away the last of his needles. 

“So you really like it?” Zuko asked, straightening up after pushing the last box under a table. 

“I love it. Really. Thank you so much,” Sokka said, giving Zuko a warm smile. Stepping forward, he looped his non-tattooed arm around Zuko’s waist and pulled him close. “It reminds me of home.” 

“Thank you for trusting me enough to give you a tattoo like that,” Zuko replied, running his hands up and down Sokka’s sides. 

Leaning forward, Sokka kissed Zuko for a moment, before pulling back to rest their foreheads together. 

“I love you,” he said quietly. 

“I love you too,” Zuko whispered back. 

“YO CAN YOU TWO STOP BEING GAY?! WE GOTTA GO!”

Toph, who apparently had just arrived, was standing in the doorway and frowning in their direction. 

“How did you even know we were doing something gay?” Sokka complained as he disentangled himself from Zuko. 

“Because you two are always like that?” Katara spoke up. Apparently she had arrived with Toph, and Aang was already hanging off of her like he hadn’t seen her in months (even though he’d literally seen her earlier that day). 

“Oh, shush,” Sokka waved her off. “I’m thanking my boyfriend for giving me a really cool tattoo, is that so bad?” 

“Wait, let me see it!” Katara demanded. Walking over, Sokka showed Katara his arm, and she gasped. “Oh my god…it’s beautiful.” 

“Not as beautiful as you,” Aang joked, poking Katara’s cheek. 

“God, you’re so cheesy,” Katara laughed, although she was blushing.

“Guys, can we _please_ leave now? It took me ages to get a reservation at this hot pot place!” Suki complained. 

“Sorry! We’re coming!” Ty Lee chirped, grabbing Mai’s arm and dragging her towards the door. 

“We are too,” Sokka said, grabbing Zuko’s hand and leading him out of the shop. 

As Zuko locked the door to the shop behind them, Sokka looked around at his group of friends. Suki was chatting excitedly with Ty Lee, Mai was letting Toph run her fingers along what looked like a very sharp pocket knife (and Toph seemed a little too excited about it), and Aang was resting his chin on Katara’s shoulder, listening intently as she rambled about her day to him. 

If someone had told Sokka 6 months ago that this would be his new normal, _and_ that he was happier than he’d ever been before, he would’ve told them that they were crazy. 

Their car arrived, and everyone began to pile in. 

“Be careful, Sokka. I don’t want you messing up the ink,” Zuko told him as he climbed across the seat. 

“I’ll be careful,” Sokka replied, rolling his eyes affectionately at his boyfriend. 

The car door shut, and everyone was crammed inside, with Sokka being careful to position his arm so it wasn’t pressing against anything. 

“Oh! By the way, Snoozles!” Toph suddenly chimed in. “I wanted to tell you the tattoo looks great!” 

“Wow, thanks Toph- HEY WAIT A MINUTE!” 

Everyone in the car laughed, and Sokka knew that even if he couldn’t have imagined his future would look like this, he was pretty damn glad about the way things turned out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did I _need_ that cheesy epilogue? No but you all deserved it lksdjfkld
> 
> also note: I have four tattoos. They are not that painful I promise. Sokka is just a baby
> 
> I really hope you guys like how things turned out, I personally never thought Zuko was actually going to be upset about Sokka being Boomerang once Sokka cleared things up, that was just Sokka catastrophizing things in his head. I hope that wasn't too anticlimactic for you all though!
> 
> Anyway, thank you all again so much for all the love you've shown this fic. I'm so glad you guys enjoyed it <3 
> 
> hmu on tumblr @thatsnotrelevant


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